Review of Doctor Sleep (2019) by Jluis_001 — 15 Nov 2019

When the adaptation of Doctor Sleep was announced I must say that I was quite skeptical. How do you make a sequel to such a famous book and such a famous film?

How do you unite both of them? And how do you attract the audiences? Surprisingly, Mike Flanagan succeeded, although relying significantly on Kubrick's film. That's not a bad thing because in one way or another how could you announce it as a sequel to The Shining in the cinema without recognizing Kubrick's film?

The changes themselves are not so annoying, they're understandable and after all as I have said repeatedly, a book and a film are very different narrative media.

The film itself is pretty entertaining although its duration is excessive. Especially considering how scattered and muddled its beginning feels, but it manages to catch pace and although it has its problems, this is due more to the unfortunate need to overexplain what is happening on the screen instead of giving more agility to the narrative.

Ewan McGregor doesn't do a bad job but I didn't feel his work so solid, the truth is that I felt him somewhat disconnected. Rebecca Ferguson on the other hand feels more involved but the story fails to give her a memorable moment, which is a shame.

And even though it can be considered that this film is one of King's best adaptations, it should also be clarified that this is due to its final act because after all and even if it may not seem true to some, the biggest impression the film will leave you comes from the scenes at the Overlook Hotel, but I repeat that's not a bad thing.

Doctor Sleep is not a bad film at all as I said it is one of King's best adaptations and it's known that getting that is very difficult but Mike Flanagan did it.

He continues to consolidate, he did it with Gerald's Game and especially with The Haunting of Hill House and here he offers another good addition to his filmography. I recommend it, with certain reservations but I think it's worth it. It is a worthy sequel. Maybe not from the massive legacy of Kubrick's masterpiece but justifies its existence.