My thoughts on The Dead Zone

Raise your hand if you love Christopher Walken.  That's right, I'm raising my hand in the air and pumping my fist like nobody's business.

In this 1983 vision of Stephen King's book of the same name, Walken plays Johnny Smith, a man who wakes up from a coma after 5 years to find that he has second vision, or the ability to see a person's future by touching their hand. 

Much of the movie revolves around the difficulty Johnny has in adjusting to his new life.  The woman he was going to marry before the accident that put him in a coma has long since married another man and had a son.  He also becomes the focus of many journalists and desperate people, who either view his second vision with unconcealed skepticism or hound him to help them solve their ills.  Johnny becomes emotionally withdrawn and views his second sight as an act of vengeance from an unjust god.  He attempts to seclude himself.

It isn't until he shakes the hand of a rising politician, played by Martin Sheen, whose future reveals a decision to start a nuclear war, that Johnny realizes the power his gift grants him to change the future for the good of mankind.

While the movie is obviously dated and limited by the technology of its time, it is easy to see what a gripping story King originally told.  The film has held up reasonably well over time and is a decent watch.  However, if you want to truly experience the depth and profundity of the story, I would recommend that you instead read the book.

My final word: The movie is pretty solid and I rated it 3 out of 5 stars on Netflix.  It is fun to see Walken in a role so far outside of what he normally does now, particularly to see how often he smiles, and the story is strong.  The real downside to the film is how much it has aged and how it suffers in comparison to the pacing, cinematography, and visual effects so common in movies today.