Movie Review
Review: The Dark Tower
A Thin Plot and Weak Antagonist Over Shadow the Better Parts of This Movie
The Dark Tower is a film released by Columbia Pictures and directed by Nikolaj Arcel. It stars Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Claudia Kim, Fran Kranz, Abbey Lee, and Jackie Earle Haley.
Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), the last Gunslinger, is locked in an eternal battle with Walter O’Dim (Matthew McConaughey), also known as the Man in Black. The Gunslinger must prevent the Man in Black from toppling the Dark Tower, the key that holds the universe together. With the fate of worlds at stake, two men collide in the ultimate battle between good and evil.
The Dark Tower is a movie based on the popular series of books written by Stephen King, and if reports are accurate, it is intended to be a sequel to the events in those books. It takes place in New York City and Mid World, an alternate reality that has a distinct Old West feel. The Dark Tower combines dark fantasy, science fiction, and western elements to create a movie that I felt was fun, but on the whole okay at best.
The Good
Idris Elba. Plain and simple, he is one of the best parts of this movie. It doesn’t matter what film you put this man in he is going to bring it every time, playing characters in a way that draw you into the movie. Roland’s frame of mind at the beginning of The Dark Tower is in a dark place; he’s lost his father, and he’s the last of a long line of gunslingers, the protectors of the Dark Tower. He has forsaken his calling as a gunslinger and instead has chosen a path of vengeance. His story and interaction with Taylor’s character Jake Chambers are what make this an enjoyable film. The other piece of that equation for goodness does come from Tom Taylor. The Dark Tower is his first major motion picture debut, and I enjoyed his performance in it. There are a couple of emotionally charged scenes in this movie that involve Tom’s character Jake where if did not bring the right gravity and rawness to Jake’s pain it wouldn’t have worked, but he especially shines throughout this movie.
I also liked the peek that we got into the dimension of Mid World. With its dystopian feel, magical roots, and wild west style grit it was a unique place. There is a scene where Roland and Jake travel to a settlement seeking the help of one of the people living there. When they arrive, you get the slightest look into what Mid World has become and the state of its decline in the absence of the gunslingers. I really wish we had more time here, both in the village and in Mid World it is an interesting place that wasn’t explored enough.
The Bad
That leads into my largest criticism of The Dark Tower; there are simply too many elements of this movie that are either glossed over or are left completely unanswered. Early on in the film, you learn things about Roland’s character that make him unique, but it’s never mentioned again, and you don’t get any explanation as to why he can do some of the things he can do. I also felt like I was dropped right into the middle of this story without any context or reference point for the conflict. At one point we’re put into the midst of a battlefield, there are bodies everywhere, and we’re introduced to the Man in Black (who’s weak too, but I’ll get to that later). He fries some guys, and then we cut to another scene. Then you find out that was kind of an important battle that, as a viewer, I am supposed to care about; but again without any context, I didn’t care about it at all.
Another element in this movie that was completely glossed over is the portals that allow people to travel from dimension to dimension. Who built them? How do they work? Why are they so well guarded? We don’t get anywhere near an explanation or hint of an answer to any of these questions; they’re just placed in certain locations to get our characters from place to place. At one point in the movie one of the portals on earth recognizes one of the earth-based characters as a traveler; what does that mean? How did know who he was? What is a traveler? We don’t ever find out, and it gets annoying as the movie continues.
So let’s talk about the Man in Black played by Matthew McConaughey. This character was paper thin. All we know for sure is that his name is Walter, and he wants let demons loose on all the dimensions with his ‘magics.’ What’s his motive? Who knows. How did he learn his ‘magics?’ Who knows. What’s his endgame after all hell is let loose on the realms? Who knows. We don’t learn anything about his character at all. McConaughey was wasted in this role; he’s a talented actor who unfortunately isn’t utilized in this movie at all. I was concerned going into The Dark Tower that McConaughey wasn’t going to play the character right and would essentially be his ‘alright, alright, alright’ persona in black, but I think he did the best with what he was given.
Lastly, I felt like this movie suffered from being a little too short. I know, I know I just wrote three scathing paragraphs of negatives on The Dark Tower, you’d think I would want to just get the hell out of there as quickly as I could, but just follow me for a moment. The Dark Tower had some real promise; it just had an incredibly thin plot. I think if this movie spent an extra 20–30 mins (remember it was only a 90-minute movie) they could have built the world a little more, filled in some of the character and story gaps, and made a more cohesive film that would have been far more engaging.
The Verdict
Guys, in the end, I think The Dark Tower is a movie that will not be meaty enough for long-time fans of the series, and too thin for people who have never read the books. I did enjoy parts of this movie, but I do feel like this was a missed opportunity, and the movie felt very rushed. I read one review where the writer said that the first half of this film felt like a series premiere and the second half felt like a series finale, and we fast forwarded right through the whole middle of the series. I think that pretty much sums up this movie. If you’re a fan of The Dark Tower books, I believe that you’re going to find the film to be a frustrating shell of the series you love with a hodge podge of story elements from the books peppered in. If you’ve never read the books you might find this to be interesting, but I’d recommend maybe waiting for the planned tv series; maybe they’ll get that project a little closer to the mark.
That’s how I’m calling this one, but I’d like to know what do you guys think? Did you see The Dark Tower? Am I spot on, or out of my mind? Let me know in the comments below. Also be sure to follow me on Twitter @TheWeeklyMovie and on Facebook @TheWeeklyMovies. As always thanks for reading, and I’ll see you at the movies.
