Stephen King, a prolific American writer, often struggles with screen adaptations of his work due to the dense nature of his text, particularly in terms of character development. Mini-series or 3-hour TV-films tend to be more successful adaptations than standard Hollywood feature films, especially for shorter works like King's novella The Langoliers. Directed by Tom Holland in 1995, the film follows a routine flight from Los Angeles to Boston that is mysteriously transported into a time-warp, leaving only a few passengers awake and stranded on the deserted plane.
As the remaining passengers, including a pilot, struggle to navigate the dark and silent plane, they must also contend with the deadly Langoliers, creatures that devour everything in their path from the past. Despite a promising start with an intriguing plot and strong characterizations, The Langoliers falters in the second half with lackluster CGI effects and a disappointing resolution. While Tom Holland directs with confidence and the cast delivers solid performances, the film may only truly appeal to die-hard Stephen King fans.
Rating: 4/10 (+)
Original text posted on Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on September 23, 2003
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