Wow, I'm surprised that nobody thought "hey, maybe reducing the role of the single African American lead character down to nothing isn't such a great idea?"
For most of this film, Mike was just this kid hovering on the edge of the gang ... basically a background character. It was like the film wasn't even sure what to do with him.
His part wasn´t bigger in the books. Most of the time in the books he wasn´t even around. Only in the adult part his role expands.
shareLies. We literally find out about the entire history of Derry, the town's racist underbelly, the ineptitude of its police force, the craziness of the Bowers family, etc via Mike...
shareYes, via adult Mike. Lol Roflmao xd
shareNo.
You should read the book. It's good.
I did. The scenes you refer to are all flashback narrations told through Mike.
Putting them in the movie would´ve destroyed structure and pacing.
/QC
Uh, Mike showing the Losers his photo album and going over the history of Derry didn't occur in "flashback narration".
Did you actually understand the book or did you just flick through the pages?
Obviously, Calzone did not read the book. I think he's just trolling.
Mike was the historian as well as the one who brought everyone back. Unfortunately, many of the african american characters in Stephen Kings novel are actually the lead role. Once the directors get a hold of them? They literally wipe them out. Or make them basically faceless.
Randall Flagg versus Mother Abigail.. Both characters were african american in the book..
That would have been amazing to see someone like Idris Elba playing Mr. Flagg. He makes an incredible villain..
I honestly thought, the moment i saw the Mike character that was in the movie, that the director was going to traditionally kill him off before the end was up..
Go back and read The Stand. Randall Flagg was definitely not African American in the book.
share"Mike was the historian as well as the one who brought everyone back."
He was the town historian and brought everyone back together as kids?
I'm a fan of Stephen King, but this book was horribly boring. He dwells too much on all the weird stuff that must have happened during his school days that I've never heard of anywhere else. We moved a lot and I've attended a lot of schools. No real school I've attended had people act the way they do in any of King's stories. I don't know if people are that much different in Maine or else if it is all fabricated from King's demented mind.
Considering how rough his intro was to the movie, including his introduction to Penny-wise, it made no sense how miniscule of a role he played and also how no one really cared that much that his parents burned to death next door to him. He should be angrier than all of them. I'm guessing it was a choice made in editing to cut down runtime.
Also, I don't know any weak farm boys. That bully would've gotten wrecked.
If people (directors, producers, writers...ect) made their decisions based solely off the colour of some of the characters skin, it would be a detriment to the entire industry.
Had Mike had a bigger role in the original story that could be conveyed in the film in a way that doesn't bog the pacing or story down, then by all means, stick to it and add some.
To try to force things just because of someones ethnicity though...just doesn't make any sense.
i also didn't like that Ben got all the "history of Derry" bit from the characters.
wtf he was already the architect-y builder Loser.. why give him another role?