Ponderous Adaptation of King's Serial Novel

Rating: 5/10 (28 June 2010)

Stephen King's pulpy serial novel was a fun read; writer/director Frank Darabont turned it into a bloated, self-important and self-righteous movie.
He did the same thing, though to a lesser extent, to "The Shawshank Redemption," another adaptation of a King story. Why in the world this man keeps turning to Stephen King for tales of philosophical import I don't know, because the material just isn't there. On paper, "The Green Mile" was an effective little story about a man with mystical powers waiting out his life on Death Row. The usual King touches -- including dips into the macabre and supernatural -- are there, but the most interesting parts of the book are the details about Depression-era prison life. Darabont amps up the religious overtones and smothers the story in hokey sentimentality.
My favorite Darabont film to date is "The Mist," a nasty little bit of work that could fit inside "The Green Mile" with about an hour to spare.
Grade: C