Unassumingly strong, moving performances and Darabont's durable storytelling make it a trip worth taking.
EmanuelLevy.Com
February 05, 2008
Overextending its welcome, Frank Darabont's film is the most commercially popular adaptation of a Stephen King novella, but it's also a slow, often dull prison drama.
Much of the three-hour movie takes place in the prison, but the resonant characterization, expansive plotting, and judicious use of exterior locations and flashbacks turn the walls into windows.