The history of Stephen King books that have been brought to the big (and small) screen is huge. Usually the result are films that are worth watching and the expectations for the movie based one of his most famous books, The Dark Tower, were high. This series of books has a large number of fans, which means that a screenwriter and director have a challenge on their hands. When this movie finally came out, the first reactions by those who’ve read the books were pretty negative and perhaps that is understandable, because it’s impossible to include as many details in a film as in a book. But what if, like me, you don’t know anything about the books at all? Will you be able to enjoy it more?
Jake (Tom Taylor) lives in New York and is struggling after the death of his father. He is plagued by dreams about “The Dark Tower”, a tower that protects various worlds from evil. A wizard (also known as “The Man in Black” (Matthew McConaughey) tries to destroy the tower with the help of the power of children, while a “gunslinger” (Idris Elba) wants revenge and is look for The Man in Black. Jake draws everything he sees in his dreams, but his mother and new boyfriend think he’s too obsessive and want to have his mental state be treated. When Jake sees that the people from his dreams actually seem to exist, he decides to escape and ends up in the world he is dreaming about. Can he help protect the Dark Tower?
It quickly becomes clear that The Dark Tower tries to put a lot of story into just one film. As a result, there is not enough time to work out certain concepts properly. Because of that the emotinal payoff of some dramatic scenes simply isn’t as big as it could have been. If you are able to look past that, there is still plenty to enjoy. Amusing action, fun acting from Elba and MConaughey and a story without much of a cliffhanger. It is certainly not the best Stephen King film, but as a quick snack pretty entertaining.
