11.22.63 - Der Anschlag

Dreieinhalb Sterne. James Franco, Sarah Gadon, die Retro-Stimmung und der erste und letzte Teil sind super. Dazwischen habe ich mich aber ab und zu gelangweilt. Den Autoren ist es zwar gelungen, den größten Mangel von Kings Vorlage zu beseitigen (d. h. die Langwierigkeit bei Jakes Lehrtätigkeit), er wurde aber durch einen anderen ersetzt – die völlig überflüssige Figur von Bill, der das Drehbuch viel zu viel Raum gelassen hat. Sonst haben mich aber die Änderungen, die im Vergleich zum Buch vorgenommen wurden, nicht gestört. (18.06.2016)

An unexpectedly entertaining and solid film. James Franco is amazing, the retro look is cool, the dialogue is good and the pace is very nice. It's got style and drive and that's what counts. Praise for the second part, which creates an almost horror-like atmosphere in the style of The Amityville Horror. (“If you change the past, the past will fuck with you”). Quite possibly the best time travel thing. 80%. (08.03.2016)

After a long time, we get the James Franco who truly entertained me and carried this television miniseries even when it was running out of steam. Maybe at the moment when the main hero lost his memory. A completely unnecessary diversion that only prolonged the plot. I have to read the book to see if even in King's version the ending is so weird that I won’t really care how it turns out. (30.09.2016)

I've read almost all of Stephen King's books, including 11.22.63, so watching this series left me a bit disappointed. I understand that adaptations require some trimming of the original story, but I don't get why new characters (like Billy) were added when they don't impact the plot at all. Another thing that really bothers me is the quota system in American films and TV shows, where a certain percentage of roles must go to Black actors. I have nothing against Black actors, but casting them in roles that don't make sense for the story feels forced. In this case, it's the character of Mimi Corcoran. Mimi was supposed to be the school's power behind the scenes, but here she's reduced to a secretary who just parrots "Yes, sir!" The plot felt uneven, and I couldn't get into it. On the bright side, James Franco and Sarah Gadon delivered very good performances. (02.07.2016)