I think that for anyone that hasn't seen the dozen or so iterations of this Stephen King story will think that it is nearly 100% good. For me, most of my criticism of the show - and there's not much because it is a good show - comes from the fact that I have read the book at least twice, and seen several of the movies, including the one in 1976 that got it all started.
One thing that I no longer really care to argue about or even talk about for any length of time is something that was always going to happen when Amazon makes anything, especially if they do it with Stephen King in the past 20 years.
This series deviates from the source material dramatically in a lot of ways but one of the ways that is evident straight away is that this is extremely diverse and for me, that probably would have irked me in the past, but now I just kind of chuckle a bit when a couple of dudes are making out in the school hallway for no reason just because it's Amazon, and that is what they do.
if this sort of thing still irritates someone to the point where they are going to get genuinely angry about it in this day and age then I suppose you are in for a bad time because it isn't going to stop. While I do not understand the motivation to make everything gay that's just what it is and I don't even mind. I do roll my eyes a bit when something sexual (straight or gay) is introduced into a story when it has no bearing on the plot, but it's Amazon. Of course they are going to do this. When they did it to Lord of the Rings I got upset because that was tooling around with one of the most beloved fantasy stories of all time but with Carrie? Who gives a shit.
In order to make Carrie a series spanning however many episodes that it is, they had to do more with the story than just have a girl in school get bullied until she uses her psychic powers to kill everyone, even her friends. Therefore, we go through a sort of exploration where Carrie becomes aware of her powers and then slowly but surely starts using them.
one thing they do spend time on, and I am glad that they did, was about how modern-day bullying isn't about putting someone's head in the toilet or shoving them in a locker, it is much more awful and lasting that than. The creation of online profiles to bully someone has much more far-reaching consequences than just getting into a slap contest in the hallway at the hands of a ginger giant who has socializing issues. This sort of stalking can be forever damaging to a person and Carrie 2026 kind of showcases how a lot of the "mob rule" just goes along with it and rather than standing up for the people who are being bullied, they, perhaps afraid of ending up as a target of this bullying themselves, go along with it.
The Carrie story was always about bullying, but for once I kind of enjoy the way that they modernized it to include the teenage obsession with an online presence and how the truly evil kids get some sort of joy out of crushing another person.
I have no personal experience with this because I am too old, but like most millennials, I have a difficult time relating to how obsessed the teens and 20-somethings of today are with things like Instagram and TikTok.
I think the show is very well-made, and it stays entertaining even though for someone like me, I already know before I watch the first minute of this thing, how it is going to turn out.
I really like Summer H. Howell, who is the actress that plays "Carrie." I do feel as though she kind of hams it up a bit too much with her crying all the time only to become a badass later, but honestly, what else are you going to do with the role?
One other negative critcism I have of the overall production is something that I normally take issue with anytime a high school is the main location of a story: Some of the "students" are very clearly in their late 20's or perhaps even early 30's. Is there really no age-appropriate people to hire?
This show did make me feel a little bit old because Matthew Lillard is the school principal/headmaster and I recall a time in a little movie called Scream where he was playing a high-school STUDENT.
i'll just have to face facts. I'm getting old.
Should I watch it?
I think you should yes. I don't think it really matters if you are familiar with the story or not, this is just a well-produced and nicely done show. For people that are on "woke-patrol" you really need to cut that shit out, this is what shows and films are going to be like these days and if you allow yourself to get pissed off to the point of refusing to watch something that does this who is really losing? It isn't the show which currently sits at over 8.5 out of 10 on IMDB and a similar level on RT.
They also do a really good job of linking one episode to the next and include a recap at the start of each new episode that only takes less than a minute. It's useful. I could see someone blazing through this entire thing in a couple of days and that makes sense to me.
