The Dark Tower

Cast: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Dennis Haysbert and Claudia Kim.

Director: Nikolaj Arcel

Release Date: 2017

Running Time: 1hr 35 minutes

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 12

Synopsis:

Gunslinger Roland Deschain has been locked in an never ending battle with Walter O'Dim, commonly known as the Man in Black. Determined to stop him from toppling the Dark Tower which holds the Universe together. In a battle of good and evil, with the world at stake, Roland must do everything he can to stop the Man in Black. 

Based on seven novels by Stephen King in The Dark Tower series. Jake Chambers (Taylor) believes that his visions are explaining the reason behind the earthquakes on Earth, believing that the The Dark Tower is under attack. Forced to run from home when people from The Dark Universe chase him, Jake seeks out to find the truth behind his visions, travelling through a porthole in the process. The problem with the storyline is the lack of understanding in not knowing where exactly the story takes place in the book series. The man in black is someone who can manipulate others actions. Force them to stop breathing, make them invision evil.

Director Nikolaj Arcel would of really benefited from making the films in order.The idea to push all seven books into one movie was a risky move. For those who have no read the novels will find themselves severely lost as to what is actually happening in the story. It's unfortunate that Stephen King's imagination is not captured the way it should be on screen. To capture the imagination of such a powerful author you need to be sharp in the film process, ideally not mixing the stories together, that were originally intended to be separate. Is it a coincidence that Jake can shine too, just like Danny in Stephen King's novel The Shining? Are the two thought to be set in the same universe?

Newcomer Tom Taylor stars as Jake Chambers, a young boy who can shine and see across worlds. Taylor delivers a seemingly good performance, although not a lot of characterisation is shown. McConaughey's performance as the man in black/Walter is very wooden, for such a talented actor it's really quite disappointing. There's no depth to his character. Idris Elba delivers the strongest performance in the film as gunslinger Roland. Both Elba and McConaughy had serious potential with their characters if it hadn't been for their poor direction. The special effects are poor and look incredibly messy on screen. The visual effects lack excitement and don't enforce an ounce of suspense. The story really had the potential to be huge, however due to poor direction and visuals the film was poorly let down.

2.5/5 stars