"Stranger Things" Season 4 Review: A Slow Start But Great Action Packed Ending

The fourth season of "Stranger Things" is currently available on NetFlix. It was originally released in two parts-- the first has seven episodes and the last has two.

The show continues to have a great slate of actors including Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Paul Riser and Matthew Modine. The kid actors are real standouts. Millie Bobby Brown is excellent. I would watch her in anything. Other stellar performers include: Sadie Sink, Noah Schnapp, Maya Hawke and Priah Ferguson.

Season 4 is darker than past seasons-- which I really appreciate. This season begins some eight months after season 3. It's 1986 and there's trouble in the town of Hawkins Indiana (yet again). Teens are dying under mysterious circumstances. It has to do with the Upside Down (yet again) but this time it's a baddie named Vecna.

Our crew is divided into three teams. Dustin, Max, Lucas, Erica, Nancy, Steve, Robin and new guy Eddie try to save the day back in Hawkins. Meanwhile Mike, Will, Jonathan and another new guy named Argyle travel to California to locate Eleven. We see a number of flashbacks of her past at the top secret research facility. Lastly, Joyce and Murray are in search of Hopper. No he's not dead. He's in a Russian prison camp.

I gotta be honest. The season started off slowly. How many times can we have an emergency in Hawkins? And how many times does it have to involve the Upside Down? At least we got a change of scenery with Mike's team in NV/CA and Winona searching for lost love Hopper. Finally in episode 7 the show went in an entirely different direction. Great twist. That reveal turns around the whole season (and series) for me. More of the same please!

My other criticism of the show is that the episodes are WAY too long. The final two clocked in at almost four hours total. Yes I know we want to give amble time for everyone in this large ensemble cast to shine. But the show could benefit from some editing to get the run time down. Despite these issues, it was still a fun season. I've interested to see what these kids do next. Millie Bobbie Brown has the second season of "Enola Holmes" out. It's a lot of fun. Sadie Sink was in "Fear Street". See my review here Finn Wolfhard has been in "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" and "It: Chapter 2" as well as being in a band. Priah Ferguson appears in this year's "The Curse of Bridge Hollow" along with Marlon Wayans. I wont' go thru the rest but you get the idea. They're a very talented group.

Grade: 4 Monsters (out of 5). A more horror filled season. All the actors (especially the "child" actors) continue to shine. Great music! I'm glad Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" is getting renewed attention. The episodes were too long though and that's when I start losing interesting. Some fat needs to be trimmed so audiences dont get bored and wander off. Season 5 will be the last of this series. I'm interested to see where else they can go. Please focus on something besides the Upside Down next time around.