Overblown, directionless mess.

Rating: 1/10 (24 August 2016)

OK, full disclosure, I was a massive fan of Stephen King novels in the 70's, 80's and 90's, and read The Shining when it first came out. Sadly so much was changed between the novel and the movie, it tears the very beating heart out of the story and renders it meaningless. Even the Shining, as Halloran dubs their abilities, is swept under the rug and seems irrelevant in the film after which it is named. Other major changes from the novel, well it's hard to know where to start there are so many. Just about all of the back story around Jacks alcoholism is ignored. The history of the Overlook is all but ignored. All three main characters differ vastly from their literary counterparts, right down to their hair colour. The Topiary of animals becomes a maze, the roque court, a major element of the novel, just disappears. The pieces that do survive from the book just end up being confusing asides without the background. The casting is very poor, Nicholson comes across as maniacal right from the off and continues to over act his way through the entire film. Duvall seems completely out of place and Danny Torrance displays all the charisma of an empty paper bag. The jarring musical soundtrack is often irritating more than it is effective. I know this is a massively popular film, but for me it was a failure of epic proportions.