Lord of the Flies

This is a first-class example of an adaptation done right, and television breathing new life into a familiar story.

There’s never been a TV adaptation of Lord of the Flies before and after this masterful version, there probably should never be another.

It’s impressive, then, that Jack Thorne and the rest of the cast and crew overcome that fatigue, bringing this adaptation to life in such vivid detail that you’ll find yourself desperately hoping that things go differently this time. In some ways, they do. Just don’t expect a happy ending.

Now we certainly don’t need another [adaptation] for a while. What Thorne, Munden and company have accomplished with this still all-too-relevant text may not be definitive, but it’s very close.

Bolstered by poetic visuals and stunning performances from the young cast, Thorne’s psychological approach offers profound insight into the unconscious impulses that underlie our current political crises.

Book purists may take issue with some of the changes, but most of them further elevate the source material as opposed to hindering it, and the overall final result is a must-see miniseries.

Sometimes it goes a little overboard with its aesthetics. So be it. Director Marc Munden’s hour-long episodes do become more disturbing (just like the book) and he draws impressive performances from a young cast.

What distinguishes this “Lord of the Flies” is not how it handles its grand and bloody moments, but the way it pays close attention to smaller, equally rich details.

That Thorne helped craft such an outstanding variation on the classic story would seem to make redundant the idea of him doing a literal adaptation of Golding's book. But his four-part take on Lord of the Flies is excellent in its own right. It understands why the story has resonated for over 70 years, and become a middle school English class perennial — and the ways in which it feels especially, unfortunately, timely at the moment.

Buoyed by terrific performances from its pint-sized cast, it’s a powerhouse that does justice to the enduring literary classic.

Purists may not like how much Thorne has added to this story, and how these additions dilute the sense of archetype that drove the story of Golding’s novel. .... There is something in these backstories that softens the dark message of Lord of the Flies. These boys broke bad, the adaptation seems to say. But it doesn’t mean we all will.

Jack Thorne has managed to make the series adaptation of Lord Of The Flies fresh by giving viewers as close to a visceral experience of being in the middle of the chaos as possible, with good performances by the actors playing the main characters.

Above all, Munden and his crew have done a fine job of wrangling good work from masses of kids, some quite little, in what must have been challenging conditions.

“The Lord of the Flies” doesn’t update its source material so much as forcefully convey the horror and tragedy of collective survival curdling into deadly brutality. The allegory is obvious. The humanity, for better and for worse, is what the show gives a youthful face.

While some elements of this adaptation – the use of fisheye photography, or the uncanny CGI wild pigs – don’t quite work, it is overwhelmingly a bold, ambitious vision for the novel.

True, I think it would have benefited from being a tad shorter but it is an extremely classy adaptation which, I imagine, will please Golding purists and newcomers alike.

A compelling piece of television in its own right.

Its cinematic style is effective, and its performances are outstanding. If its four episodes had been a bit shorter, and a few changes to the source material had been reversed, Lord of the Flies could have achieved greatness; instead, it settles for being pretty good.

“Lord of the Flies” is its [“Adolescence”] colder, rougher cousin. .... These boys have less to tell us than “Adolescence,” and offer a fleeting sting compared to the girls of “Yellowjackets.”

Each episode feels at once bloated and unfinished, ultimately dulling the show’s buildup in intensity and, therefore, political relevance. .... Still, these flaws can’t fully undermine the show’s most harrowing moments, including a finale that’s as gripping as it is heartbreaking.

Every episode feels simultaneously bloated and thin, a feeling only reinforced by denaturing the otherwise saturated palette during the scenes of violence – primitive, you see? It feels like a gimmick trying to hide the absence of real emotion. When the words do come, they are not great.