Great Potential, Wasted and Ruined...

Rating: 3/10 (5 April 2008)

I never thought I'd say I'm glad I didn't go to the theatre to see The Mist. I just didn't get the chance, and in retrospect, it's a good thing. I didn't even rent it when it first came out - I held out 'til I found a copy of the 2-disc special edition with the Black & White version and actually bought it, sight unseen.
I watched that version with my friend Jordan the other night. Beautiful cinematography, well lit (he must have shot it with both versions in mind), and solid, if not great, acting. The pacing is perfect, the special effects are great, the thrills and chills do not really disappoint.
So why the low rating, you ask? Simply put: the script is bad. It's not that it sucks like a piece of Sci-Fi Channel one-word-title garbage, but nonetheless, it's very weak. Predominately in the characterization department. I didn't care about a single character in the film, mainly because I didn't get the chance to *like* them. At all. I want to *care* about the characters who are about to get skewered by a giant crab, but...nope, it's not there at all.
Oh, the acting is fine, it's not great, but it's decent enough. Thomas Jane doesn't have much to do, neither does Laurie Holden or, most woefully, Andre Braugher. They do the best with what little they're handed.
No, the fault is in Darabont's script. And man, I never thought I'd say that. Not after he wrote the screenplays for The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Both of those have a depth of characterization that's almost unparalleled in film history. And yes, I know The Mist is just a "cheap horror film." I'm not saying it has to be as deep as Shawshank. But I wanted *something*. Lack of characterization. That's flaw #1.
The second major flaw is with Marcia Gay Harden's character. Now, I've resigned myself to Hollywood's love for the "Religious Right Nutjob" character. I don't enjoy it, but I've come to accept it as a trope. Here, though, it's simple abominable. The most over-the-top, heavy-handed, beat-you-in-the-face portrayal of that stereotype I've ever seen. It wasn't just bad, it was *forced*, and it failed utterly. My friend and I sat through the thing wishing that this supposedly-"Christian" character would die the most awful death possible. Jeez. Frank, give me a break, will you? The third, and fatal flaw is this: the ending. I haven't read the novella, but I do know it doesn't end quite like this, and while I applaud Darabont's attempt to provide more closure for the audience... It's just so bloody wrong. I was tracking with it until the last 90 seconds or so. And those 90 seconds ruined the entire film.
Now, I'm a cynic who does not believe that humans are inherently good, and I'm fine if everyone dies in a film (not saying that happens here). I also appreciate a good dose of healthy nihilism in my movies. But how *this*... Good fracking grief, it's just too much. Take the depressing ending of Spielberg's film A.I., multiply it by a factor of 10, and you might get close to the way this ends.
Frank Darabont, what were you thinking? Like I said, I'm down with nihilism, but this is just too much of an extreme about face from the redemptive worldview of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. There's a level on which it works, but... Good God, this is just too much. I felt like I had my guts wrenched out with a serrated backhoe. I can't believe I enjoyed Cloverfield and The Fog remake more.
The final verdict: What could have been a great horror film was made merely "alright" by a lackluster script, which was in turn completely ruined by a truly abysmal ending.