Been watching a lot of Cronenberg lately. Great director!My opinion of Stephen King is not quite as high, but this is a pretty good story.My litmus test came toward the end of the movie. I decided what I want is a clever twist at the very end, not the mundane ending that it appeared headed toward.It delivered.

Christopher Walken - check. Stephen King - check. Spooky/creepy horror films - check. These are all pretty much lynchpins of my film collection, so you'd probably think that Stephen King's 'The Dead Zone' would fit in there perfectly. I wish it did. Before writing this review I took the time to read (the numerous!) five star reviews, all proclaiming it as a supernatural story that's up there with 'The Shining' and 'Salam's Lot.' Again, I enjoyed both of those, but I can't in all honesty recommend 'The Dead Zone' alongside those.Christopher Walken plays a school teacher who gets into a car accident, leaving in a coma for five years. However, when he wakes up, once he's got over the fact that his girlfriend has left him, he finds he's blessed with the ability to see people's futures just by touching them. Maybe it's because we're so used to seeing those with 'mutant' abilities jumping into a spandex costume and flying round New York fighting aliens that 'The Dead Zone' feels so muted. Yes, I know it's not meant to be an all out action epic and Walken's portrayal of a man coming to terms with the role he's been forced to take on post-coma is deliberately understated.It's not the plot or the lack of budget that didn't appeal to me. I think the main thing was the dialogue. Considering it was adapted from a Stephen King story and then - presumably - rewritten by one Hollywood screenwriter or another, you'd think it would have a better script. However, even with an actor as talented as Walken in the lead, the dialogue seems basic, clunky and very badly-written.Again, I don't know if it's just me, but if the film has a real 'low point,' it's Walken's on-screen love/former love-interest (Brooke Adams) who seems to never be able to make up her mind as to whether she should be with him (despite now being married and with child), or stick with her current relationship. These emotions seem to bounce back and forth from scene to scene and she comes across as one hell of a flake-ish character. Tom Skerritt is also on the bill, but I found him a bit underused, whereas the film's primary villain (Martin Sheen) gets more screen time, only to use it as a typicallly clichéd villainous and corrupt senator.I didn't hate-hate 'The Dead Zone' - it was okay enough. I just certainly don't see what so many have obviously seen in it. I found it slowly-paced, clunky-scripted and not worthy of the talent involved. However, I will agree with what many people have said about it - that it's a 'tragic tale.' It's not exactly a 'feel-good' movie and if you're looking for something to cheer you up, you certainly won't find it here! Maybe I should have been in a more cheerful mood before I sat down to watch it? Still, the ending was pretty good/different though.

Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) slips into a coma. He's like that for five years. Then he snaps out of it with a "gift"--every time he touches someone's hand he can see events from their past and a probable future. With this he saves a little girl from being burnt, discovers a killer and saves a boy from drowning. Then he shakes the hand of Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen) who's running for the Senate. He sees Stillson becoming president and starting a nuclear war. He can stop him...but should he? And how. To make matters worse is ex-girlfriend (Brooke Adams) supports Stillson 100%.GREAT movie. It's based on a Stephen King novel and is directed by David Cronenberg. Despite their reputations this is very restrained in terms of violence. There's a couple of bloody shootings and a shocking suicide but that's it. The story is interesting and well-done. It was beautifully shot in Canada (but takes place in Maine). The acting is great across the board. I usually can't stand Walken but he's great here. Adams is wonderful but hardly in this. Herbert Lom, Colleen Dewhust and Tom Skerritt are great in small roles. And Sheen is downright terrifying as Stillson. This was lost in a sea of really bad Stephen King adaptations in the early 1980s but deserves rediscovery. Recommended.

There are a number of similarities between David Cronenberg and Stephen King. They both created fictional scientific phenomenons out of thin air for their respective stories. Their respective stories tend to be suspended in the area where they certainly flirt with the supernatural elements, but for the most part remain planted in reality. 'The Dead Zone' involves these two creative heads coming together. Christopher Walken plays the character of Johnny Smith who meets with an accident that forces him to slip into a state of coma for five years. When he wakes up, his life has changed, but he also discovers he has superpowers. The character of Johnny, certainly has a Christ figure vibe to it. This certainly is a morality tale to a great extent. Johnny constantly gets faced with dilemmas regarding how to use the power that he has been 'blessed' with. He becomes the rage of the town when people become familiar with his powers. Although initially he feels bitter about having his life destroyed, he decides to help others with his powers. To a great extent this decision has its roots in his sorrow of having his life altered by an act of fate which makes him want to change other's lives for the better. The film is episodic in nature. The film is divided into sections which might seem unrelated, but clearly the structure is intentional as subtle elements in every episode leads to the next one. I had some problems with the way the character of Sarah gets used. Other than the opening of the film, she just appears here and there in the film, but to be honest, she remains more of a symbol than a real character. Now an argument can be made that this was the intention in the first place, but there is a crucial moment in the film where Sarah makes a big life decision, but Cronenberg to a great extent brushes over it. He should have devoted a little more time to that moment. The character of Greg Stillson also gets a bit of a rushed treatment(unlike Stephen King's book), which is a weakness too, but I guess one has to consider the time constraints in terms of making a film narrative too.When it comes to acting, Walken pretty much carries the film on his own with a very emotive performance. We feel his frustration, his anger and his dilemmas. He brilliantly portrays the character of an introvert who feels frustrated and slowly distances himself from the world due to circumstances beyond his control.Cronenberg's direction if compared to the films with his own screenplays is actually very understated. Apart from one or two moments of brutal violence, the quintessential Cronenbergian moments of body horror are in short supply. The film is shot brilliantly. There is a scene in a tunnel and the shot reminded me very of a similar shot in 'The Third Man'. Apart from some rushed treatment of Sarah and Greg, Cronenberg does well to deal with hardcore character moments which can't really be said about some of his films prior to 'The Dead Zone'. I don't think 'The Dead Zone' is a perfect film, neither is it Cronenberg's best film. However it is a solid, grounded film with elements of sci-fi and horror. It has the Christ figure of Johnny Smith at the center of it whose character is compelling and layered enough to make the film itself compelling.