Stephen King will go down as arguably one of the greatest writers of our time because of his novels and the films adapted from them. Unfortunately, even the greatest of writers won’t have a decent adaption and that’s the case for The Dark Tower. This film had a lot of promise, but couldn’t deliver in the end, even with the star power of Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. The Dark Tower came off looking like it was going to be an action-packed kickoff to the film adaption of the series. If you’re a fan of the novels then I urge you to avoid this movie if you expect to see a fair adaption.
The Dark Tower is an eight-novel series about a lone warrior known as a gunslinger by the name of Roland Deschain. The gunslingers were an order sworn to protect the tower that has significant meaning. The tower is a structure that stands in the center of everything; it protects all the worlds from the darkness that can’t take over as long as the tower stands. This film is based off the first book, The Gunslinger. Now film adaption of novels are mostly never to the letter, but if almost feels like the director didn’t even try in the film.
The story telling is simplistic with very little backstory and it turns out to be mostly dialogue; there’s only about 20 minutes of action. There were some cool movements during the fire fights, but it was over before you could enjoy it. Matthew McConaughey did a good job portraying the man in black, but the vision the director may have had for the film may not go well with people who had their own opinions. The way the man in black uses his magic will most likely make the audience laugh than amaze them. Everything about this film was quick and for fans who read the novels, this will be the biggest complaint.
From the get go, it starts with here’s the tower and this is how it can come down, but we don’t have the right child which we find out later is Jake. Jake, played by Tom Taylor, was ok but he did have good chemistry with Idris Elba. Idris has yet to disappoint me with any role but he has had a bad habit doing some films that don’t bring in the money. This film will definitely be one of those films that will have a good first week, but that’ll be it. I be shocked if there is enough money made for a sequel.
The Dark Tower is a fast food adaption from the novels and was a huge let down for the fans. Straight to the point with no explanation of why things were the way they were and no back story describing who people are. If you’re in the mood to just watch something to pass the time, then this movie may be pleasing to you. If you’re familiar with the novel and looking for a decent adaption, then don’t even bother to wait for this to come out on Netflix. This film gets a five out of ten, because you might enjoy this if you don’t know anything about the series.
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