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‘The Dark Tower’: You may want to read the book instead
‘The Dark Tower’
(Columbia Pictures)
By Lucas Allen
Besides being Maine’s national treasure, Stephen King has given the world some scary stories that dive into the darkest depths of humanity. What you may not know is that he also wrote a series of sci-fi novels inspired by the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien and Ray Bradbury. After many years of Hollywood trying, “The Dark Tower” finally makes its way to the big screen, courtesy of Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment. It had a long journey, but is it worth the wait?
Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) is a 12-year-old living in New York City, and has been having nightmares involving a war-torn world, a large tower, and the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey). Everyone, including his loving mother (Katheryn Winnick), believe the dreams stem from the death of his father. Determined to know more, Jake goes to an abandoned building in Brooklyn that contains a portal that brings him to an alternate world. It’s there he meets a man called The Gunslinger (Idris Elba), who wants revenge on the Man in Black for killing his father (Dennis Haysbert).
They soon discover that Jake is having the dreams because he has developed a psychic ability that he and other kids share. In fact, the Man in Black is using their power to destroy the big tower that is supposed to keep the balance between different worlds. Now Jake and The Gunslinger must work together to defeat their nemesis and save both of their universes.
If the term “the book was better” is ever thrown around, this movie is a prime example of it. While it has some good ideas, the movie sorely lacks any world-building that could’ve make it a more interesting experience. It’s like if they adapt all three Lord of the Rings books in one two-hour movie without explaining the histories of Middle-Earth or use other important characters. It’s no doubt a lot of people will call this one of the worst adaptations in movie history.
Because of the sloppy story structure, there’s little to care about of the history of The Gunslinger or the movie’s heroes. All you get is the bare basics and nothing else. Characters exposit about the universe without any good imagery to back it up, which will frustrate any casual viewer who has not heard of the books. For a 90-minute feature, all you get is several minutes of action, another several minutes of world-building, and the rest of the time lots of sluggish exposition.
Speaking of action, there are some good scenes, though they pale in comparison to earlier blockbusters. They only serve to move the story along in case you may get bored by the amount of exposition. The climax may make up for the rest of the shortcomings, even if fans of the books don’t feel satisfied by the end.
Elba is a very good actor who tries his very best with the role he’s given, even though his character was sorely underwritten. McConaughey on the other hand delivers some of his trademark swagger to bring more meat to his character. Taylor does a fine job in his role, considering he’s given more emotion than the other actors.
In terms of movies released during the dog days of summer, “The Dark Tower” is both a curiosity for the casual viewer and a disappointment for those who wanted better. It’s worth watching for the actors alone, but there are still other movies in theaters now that do this better. Still this could’ve been worse. It could’ve been “The Emoji Movie.”
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for thematic material including sequences of gun violence and action)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 2.5 Stars (Out of Four)
