Stephen King is a master of many things, and Hollywood has never been afraid to capitalize on the epic tales he has crafted over the years. This weekend his legendary Dark Tower series gets its own chance to “shine” and prove to fans that the series can continue on. Did Sony studios plan to make a “sequel” to the books thrive, or will if fall victim to the shortcuts the film industry often takes. Robbie K here to share his thoughts on another movie. Why don’t we get started then?
LIKES:
Nice Set Up: Doing my research, I realized where the directors were planning on taking this film franchise and the books it is based on. The Dark Tower acts as a “sequel” to the books and builds as an introduction to the series. It sets a nice framework up for those who haven’t read the series and prepares us for an adventure that could span multiple films/shows in the future. It has simplified the complexity of King’s work and thrown hints at how his worlds are connected, perhaps inspiring some rewatching of his classics.
Action Scene: Dark Tower primarily is about opening us up to a world and setting the pieces and that unfortunately doesn’t bring much action. However, the group managed to put a dazzling piece together involving our gunslinger and a round of minions. Idris Elba finally gets to show off his legendary skills, outside of acting, as the lone gunslinger in his quest to stop the forces of evil. The stunts are epic, the editing is on point, and the violence is contained to not be overly gory but still strong enough to be considered action instead of a bland use of a gun. It took the movie long enough to get to this point, but I thoroughly enjoyed the climax fight.
The Acting: I’m not calling this the world’s best acting, or even Oscar Worthy on most levels, but the acting is decent in the Dark Tower. Tom Taylor as the new kid with the shine, does a decent job playing the troubled, awkward kid and portraying that strange view of the world. His other emotions, however, needs a little work as these come off dry, awkward, and sometimes a bit underwhelming given the circumstance. Matthew McConaughey brings his Lexus commercial approach to the mix, the cool delivery of his lines, holding an air of superiority and malicious intent. He has the villain role down and instills a bit of chill when he appears on the scene. Of course, the champion of this movie is Idris himself, hitting the role with 100% accuracy. Elba’s got the rogue part down and the edgy, loner bravado brings the bang to the proverbial gun. And the chemistry Elba has with his cast only amps up his skills, a talent I always like to see.
DISLIKES:
Rushed: Sure the movie made a nice framework for introducing the series to nonreaders, it failed to deliver those important details. The Dark Tower leaves a lot questions unanswered in terms of the origins of all the pieces involved in this war. As for the parts they do fill in, these are lacking on so many levels, lacking real depth or mystery to get you hooked into the film. Even worse, much of the quest has little in regards to obstacles, with most problems being solved with little effort. You get to hear all about the things lying in wait, but their actual involvement in the movie is little to none. While this not only limits the story, it also limits the special effects and creature design we could have gotten as well. A few CGI and makeup effects stand out, but the Dark Tower’s first film is rather lackluster given the potential of King’s books.
Anticlimactic: Much of the movie is rather dull, drawn out in a manner of theoretical talks of ideal brain power, anarchy, and abduction. All the fancy words and magic didn’t help a limited dialog that can be boiled down into a single-minded set of plots that we hear over and over again. When things finally get going, and all the hot air from the cast is lit aflame… the action barely catches light before being snuffed out. With the exception of one scene (see likes), The Dark Tower’s gun slinging is not what I expected. This is particular true for the final fight between antagonist and protagonist that was more lame than impressive. All the hype and rivalry to end so abruptly, not the direction I would have taken.
Predictable/Lazy: There was so much potential placed on this movie, and the trailer painted what could have been an epic adventure. Yet, somewhere the film fell victim to cheap shortcuts, low use of nightmarish effects, and a direction that went down the wrong tangent for an opening. It felt uninspired and lazy at times, and perhaps they cut a lot of good parts to fit into the short run time.
The VERDICT:
Overall the Dark Tower is not bad when you understand the plan to expand upon in the years to come. As a stand-alone film, it does the job of introducing characters and the world, but it failed to reel me into the full-on adventure. With a rushed plot, easy challenges, and lazy production approach, this film is mediocre at best given the hype of everything. Therefore, this reviewer recommends holding off seeing this film until Redbox gets it in stock.
My scores:
Action/Adventure/Fantasy: 6.5
Movie Overall: 6.0
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