even this weak Kubrick film is better than 90% of all the movies ever made

Rating: Null/10 (18 September 2005)

I'm a Kubrick fan and have seen all of his films many times. The Shining has some problems, but even a weak Kubrick film is better than 90% of all the movies ever made.
The film has little to do with Stephen King's novel which serves as a basis only. The plot is simple. Jack Nicholson gets a job as the winter caretaker at the Overlook resort and takes wife Shelley Duvall and his son along. They are predictably snowed in for the winter and strange things begin to happen to them.
There are many great scenes in the movie that only Kubrick could visualize. When Duvall reads Jack's novel, the dead woman in the tub, the little girls, the elevator flood, the cold storage locker, the bar, the son on his tricycle, the former caretaker in the bathroom. The interior and exterior sets of the Overlook are impressive and amazing.
Now for the problems with the film. Positively bug-eyed Shelley Duvall gives one of the worst performances ever in a film, a whimpering wimp, exactly the type of character in a horror film who is so weak you want them out of the way. Nicholson's performance varies from good to completely over the top. His famous "Here's Johnny" line completely ruins the mood of the movie and breaks any spell it might have had. A person in Jack's frame of mind at that point in the film, would never say that line. Danny Lloyd is terrible in the role of their son. Since these three characters take up most of the screen time in the film these weaknesses really hurt the film.
Still, The Shining is a movie that should be seen because it is pure Kubrick and as such it's an important film.