The follow up the horror classic “The Shining” trades in claustrophobic scares and masterful direction for violence and more traditional storytelling. First off, I’ve seen the original film and the miniseries, but never read either of the novels in the series. As far a sequel goes, and they primarily use the Kubrick film as their jumping off point, it’s an okay story. But, it’s more a new tale about a grown-up Danny, and not so much a continuation of the earlier film. Ewan McGregor is fine as the adult Danny, and once his plotline gets going, you get really invested in him. However, once it gets to that point, it switches gears and introduces Abra to the mix. While her gifts are amazing, we don’t really get to know her enough to really get too invested in her character. It’s only that she’s in danger that we really root for her. But even then, the film’s villains aren’t remotely scary, and while Rebecca Ferguson’s Rose is charismatic, she’s not particularly intimidating. The climax is fairly anti-climactic, and feels more like it’s just an Overlook Hotel greatest hits. It actually comes off a bit silly, in almost the same way I thought the ending of the miniseries was. And also worth mentioning, quite a few characters that appear via flashbacks are played by lookalike actors. Some nail their characters so well you have to do a double-take to make sure it’s not really them, while others are so off the mark you don’t even realize who they’re supposed to be playing at first.
**1/2 out of *****