The Dark Tower - Loved It ❤️ - DoubleFeaturePreachers

The Dark Tower - Loved It ❤️

8/7/2017

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Idris Elba, and Tom Taylor
Director: Mikolaj Arcel
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Based on Stephen King Novels: The Dark Tower Series
Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Book-to-Film | 2017

Not having read a single novel in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King (or any Stephen King novel for that matter) I was still pretty excited to watch this film based on the trailers. I have to say that The Dark Tower has everything I like to see in a movie: action, explosions, sorcery, and adventure. The film centers around Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), a young boy who has psychic capabilities. To start the story off, he sees the dark tower, the man in black, and the gunslinger in his dreams. His step-dad thinks that he needs to be sent to the asylum, while his mother is more so just worried.

So when two workers from a mental institution come to pick Jake up, he knows that they are the very same “beings” from his dreams and flees. Eventually he ends up in another world, meets the gunslinger face to face, and goes on a journey to defend the Tower. The storyline is good I think. Again, not having read the books I know nothing about how it goes, but I’ve heard there are quite a few novels in the series and that after the first book, you don’t even know what the tower is. I felt the movie did a great job explaining what it was without coming right out and telling the audience.

As for the casting, I thought it was good. I’m usually a little wary of Matthew McConaughey, but I bought the whole “I’m evil and I’m going to take over the world” bit from him as the Man in Black. Idris Elba fit well in his role as Roland, the gunslinger, and I liked Tom Taylor as Jake. The two seemed to play off each other well as a team throughout the adventure.

There were a few parts that allowed the audience to laugh, mostly with Roland experiencing Keystone Earth for the first time. His interactions with the people here were great, as is great in every movie with similar circumstances (Wonder Woman for instance). The scene in the hospital room was perfect.

One thing I didn’t really understand (and I don’t think was explained) were the people working for the Man in Black. They obviously weren’t real humans since their faces were put on and had the creases on the neck, but what were they? Minions? Or believers in the Man in Black? Victims? It just wasn’t explained like I would have liked it to be, or perhaps I just didn’t catch on. Check on over in David’s review, he probably knows.

The effects in this film were typical. It was interesting watching the clouds light up as red when the tower was under attack, and the “beam of light” (I don’t know what else to call it) was cool. I especially liked the monsters in the forest, totally reminded me of Predator. The use of an abandoned theme park and Pennywise ferris wheel were nice touches.

Overall, I enjoyed this film. I think it will do well in the box office, and I’d recommend it to all. It’s not scary but definitely thrilling throughout. I’ll give this film a “Loved It” rating, but I don’t have high hopes for a perfect rating from David. (5/5)