Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is Christopher Walken at his best! Both he and Brook Adams are captivating. The only real love story Stephen King has written. If you liked Deloris Clairborne you'll probably like this.
Rating: 
Summary: it's fair
Review: This movie wasn't that great but it's one that was relatively close to the book, unlike a lot of them. Most of the time you can read the same thing in the books and they are all out better. I wouldn't recomend buying it.. maybe renting or waiting for it to come on TV
Rating:
Summary: Dead Zone - An Accurate Portrayal of the Book
Review: Without a doubt, this is the closest that it gets to transforming a Stephen King book from the pages of a book to celluloid. The book traces a young school teacher (Walken) that is involved in a tragid car accident, who remains in a coma, and awakens five years later to find a nightmarish ability to see the future. The book was one of King's best .... the movie is the best King adaptation.
Rating:
Summary: Genuinely haunting
Review: In my opinion, this is the best film made from a Stephen King work, but it may be too understated for its own good. I've visited many Stephen King discussion websites, and "The Dead Zone" appears surprisingly rarely in the threads about movies made from King works. One would expect that in a film featuring Christopher Walken and Martin Sheen, Walken would play the villain and Sheen the hero. This film turns that assumption neatly on its head, and it's a wise choice, too; for all his talent and oddball appeal, Walken does not have the type of oily charisma needed for Greg Stillson, the character Sheen plays. Sheen, however, does a terrific (though at times over-the-top) job of playing a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing politician, a far cry from the saintly President Bartlett he currently plays on TV's "The West Wing." Walken's performance as Johnny Smith (great name) is more muted--although that scene where he smashes the vase and yells "THE ICE IS GONNA BREAK!" never fails to startle me--and he hits all of the right notes playing a protagonist who is atypically complex for movies, and certainly for "horror" movies (the genre this movie is generally relegated to). Smith starts out righteously wounded, then becomes withdrawn and self-pitying, and finally is faced with a Cassandra-like dilemma (he knows the dreadful future, and also that no one will believe him), but unlike Cassandra, he can do something to prevent it, even though it will mean sacrificing himself. With this knowledge, he realizes that what he'd thought was a curse was really a gift, as he himself says. This film is also atypical for the "horror" genre in that it has more than its share of heartbreaking scenes. The scene that is most so, for me anyway, is when Smith tells Sarah (Brooke Adams, who gives another of the film's roundly excellent performances) that he wishes to be like Irving's Ichabod Crane: "And as he was a bachelor and in nobody's debt, nobody troubled their heads about him anymore."
Rating:
Summary: OH JOHNNY WHERE HAVE YE GONE?
Review: David Cronenberg took a definite twist from his usual shock-laden films when he helmed THE DEAD ZONE. One of King's best books, this is also one of the best adaptations of his books. Beautifully filmed with an expert talented cast, THE DEAD ZONE is a heartbreaking look at Johnny Smith, a young man who loses five years of his life lying in a coma. When he awakens, the girl he planned to marry has already wed, and has a young son. He is physically handicapped and sentenced to a world he doesn't know or understand. Christopher Walken gives one of his finest performances as Johnny. Beautifully understated and poignantly touching, Walken creates a Johnny you will never forget. And what a fine cast he has to support him: Brooke Adams as his love Sarah who still loves Johnny but knows there is no hope for a future together with him; Martin Sheen as the preening, dangerous Senatorial candidate with a predicted itchy finger; Tom Skerritt as the frustrated sheriff who seeks Johnny's help; Colleen Dewhurst as the mother of a serial killer who knew his crimes; Herbert Lom as Walken's doctor and mentor, who tries to help Johnny adjust; Anthony Zerbe as the father who wants so much for his son to function normally in his world; and Nicholas Campbell as a deputy hiding a horrifying secret.
The stark winter landscapes add to the chill and there are horrors here, but they are the horrors of not belonging, of loving someone you can never have.
A brilliant film and a must for King affecionados and lovers of compelling psychological thrillers.
Rating:
Summary: The Best King Adaption!
Review: John Smith (Walken) leads a humble, but fulfilling life as a teacher, has a sweet girlfriend and an all around normal life until, in his words: "God through and 18-wheeler at me." After a 5 year coma Johnny wakes up to find he knew is a different place and that he is a different person. I've seen The Dead Zone in bits and pieces many MANY times on TV, but surprisingly never sat down and watched it from beginning to end. Well, one night I popped this baby in and realized what a dumbass I had been. The Dead Zone is simply an unforgettable thriller and quite possibly the best film based on a Stephen King novel. Our hero in this film is the everyman, a man who lives humbly and happily. A man with a lovely girlfriend and would-be wife who is respected in his community. Everything is good in his little world until one rainy night when he has a run in with a big truck that puts him in a coma for 5 years. When Johnny wakes up he finds the world has changed. His girlfriend is now married with child, his job is gone, and his body is shot. AND on top of that he can predict the future of those he touches. Mostly predicting death and destruction, but occasionally seeing the past. This new ability is considered a curse at first. As though God played a cruel trick on him, but after saving a little girl's life, solving a series of brutal murders, and saving a boy from drowning, Johnny considers his gift a blessing. Just as Johnny begins coming to grips with his abilities he meets Greg Stillson (Sheen), a candidate for a senator and very dangerous man who dreams of becoming president. After seeing some kind of Hitler-esque prophecy Smith sets out to change the future, even if he has to sacrifice himself. The Dead Zone is of course based on the book by Stephen King and is directed by David Cronenberg who's best known for making sexually surreal thrillers. This is definitely Cronenberg's most straight forward and best film. Shot in the fall, covered in bleak gray skies, and snow, the atmosphere of The Dead Zone couldn't be more perfect. The small town adds a sense of isolation that forces Smith to take digs at a new location at the half way point of the film to get his back together. Cronenberg's usual bleakness is here, but in this film is means something is crucially needed not just for the sake of atmosphere. Christpher Walken is riveting as Smith, one of his best performances. The tragic everyman, who didn't ask to be anything special, but when it came down to crunch time the guy wagered it all to save the many. A truly powerful exercise in selflessness. Brooke Adams is great as Smith's would-be wife, now torn between her feeling for him and her new love. Great performance! Martin Sheen is a good villain, but takes his character a bit over the top at times. Herbert Lom is good as Johnny's friend/slash doctor as well. The Dead Zone can be looked upon as a depressing tragedy, but I don't consider it to be that way. The finale speaks volumes about selflessness, seizing your potential and not pissing away your true gifts. The finale while sad is more chilling and unforgettable, not a tragic fate, but a product of ultimate sacrifice. The Dead Zone is simply a brilliant film, an unforgettable journey, and one of the most fulfilling films I've seen. A true classic and one film that deserves it's place in cinema history. Check it out!
Rating: 
Summary: Emotionally powerful, imaginative--bravo to Walken
Review: This is far and away the best movie based upon a Stephen King novel (although Kubrick's "The Shining" is also very good) and a bravo performance by Christopher Walken really adds to this film's punch. The storyline is simple. John Smith is in a terrible traffic accident which puts him in a comatose state for five years. When he awakens his girl has married someone else, and the world has moved on without him. He also awakens with the power of limited second sight. As John tries to put his life back together, the psychic ability and the notoriety it brings stand in the way, making for a fascinating story. The film moves at a very brisk clip and continually holds the viewer's interest. This is an emotional and somewhat haunting movie that will strike an emotional chord in most viewers. Christopher Walken's performance is superb. He really understood the role, and this is the best performance that I have seen him in. Tom Skerrit and Martin Sheen play supporting roles and do well. By the way, this film has an excellent musical score that captures the mood of the story just right, and really adds to the wistful tone of the movie. In my opinion some of the Stephen King novels have not translated well to the big screen. This one does. This is a superb adaptation of King's novel and is very faithful to the novel, rarely departing from it. This is a fine film that most film viewers and all Stephen King fans will enjoy and appreciate more than once.
Rating:
Summary: Overlooked and underrated
Review: Stephen King is a household name in America. However, some of his finer work gets lost in the shuffle of films like "The Shining," "Pet Sematary," and "Carrie." "The Dead Zone" is just such a case. This movie is absolutely incredible. Christopher Walken stars as Johnny Smith, who wakes up one day to discover he has been in a car accident-induced coma for five years. His fiancee is married to another man and has a child and his job is gone. However, he soon discovers that he has been blessed--and cursed--with second sight as a result of the accident. Walken gives an amazing performance as a man torn apart by this strange phenomenon, and Martin Sheen is chilling as the sinister politican with his sights set on the presidency. With the surprise ending and the interesting concept behind it, this movie is definitely one of the best I have ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: Watch Martin Sheen's Chilling Portrayal Of Greg Stillson
Review: This film is a good adaption of King's "Deadzone." It is a good film but not great. It is about Johnny emerging from a 5-year-long coma with extraordinary psychic powers allowing him to see visions in the past, present and future. With these powers Johnny gets an opportunity to save the world from a nuclear exchange and takes that opportunity at the cost of his own life. Martin Sheen is convincing as a psychotic Senate hopeful aspiring to be the President of the USA.
Rating:
Summary: Don't obsess on the name "King"
Review: This is a great movie, and one of the best film adaptions of a book I've ever seen (and I've seen and read a lot). I won't give you the plot, you can read that above or in virtually every other review.
This is not a "horror" movie. It is more like the "Twilight Zone" series from the 50's (I think it was the 50's). A "what if" where the "what if" is something is impossible.
That is the set up. Then the story and character development take over. The bounds of the "what if" expand. But there is a cost, and as the protagonist learns as the story develops, that cost keeps getting higher.
Very susepnseful. Execellent acting. And I guarantee you'll be more careful around scissors...
Full disclosure: I am a sometimes King fan, have read maybe 10 books of his (I think that is ~0.005% of his output). I like his style, especially his character development, but with few exceptions, I'm not a real "horror" genre kind o' guy.
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