In every decade past the 1970's, there are films based on Stephan King, many are remembered fondly by the masses, while others are quickly forgotten due to mediocrity. In 2017, "It" was released to become a huge blockbuster hit that spawned a sequel, making studios scrambling to find adaptations that can be franchises in the future. However, in the same year, but just released one month prior to "It", "The Dark Tower" was released and quickly forgotten. What was intended to be a new franchise for Sony that would spawn sequels and TV show became a flop that audiences refuse to look upon. The film centres around Jake Chambers, a boy who gets involved with a battle between good and evil. Evil forces led by the Man In Black want Jake, since his mind is powerful enough to destroy the Dark Tower, a structure that balances all realities. Only one man chooses to fight this force, The Gunslinger, a broken man who makes Jake an apprentice under his wing. The film is based off the books of the same name. Unlike most Stephan King stories, the books go into a huge narrative that even links all of the author's works into one universe. This is why the film has so many references to Stephan King's creations and even the plot device of the Shine, which is a psychic power introduced in "The Shining", but it is evidently a power that was used in his other works including "Carrie", hence the connectedness of the universe. To be fair, all of the easter eggs were cool to see in the film, but the story is teared apart in several ways. First, the runtime is extremely short, clocking in at an hour and a half, which doesn't do justice to tell a huge narrative at all. There is also the issue of how the film tries to be a sequel and an adaptation of the franchise, which extremely confused fans of the source material. For me, someone who hasn't read any of the books, the story seems to work fine, but the runtime heavily affects the narrative such as lack of screen-time for side characters and world-building, which is not good for those unaware of the source material.
Surprisingly enough, the main characters are well acted and written as they are. Idris Elba as The Gunslinger delivers a badass performance which also shows the tired and aging side of a man who is the only person fighting for all of mankind. The kid who plays Jake Chambers is also very good, since he does have scenes that bring out the emotion from the actor, whether they are scenes of enjoyment and awe-inspiring to sadness and anger. I was shocked at how I wasn't annoyed by Jake and how he never came across as a boring character, since he's mostly side by side with the Gunslinger. Matthew McConaughey is the Man In Black and he delivers a delightfully evil performance. While some claim that he comes off as comical and over-the-top, I find it very intentional since the character is a powerful magic user that can just kill people with his mind, hence why his attitude of getting or doing whatever he wants. Yes, him cooking a chicken in someone's kitchen is silly, but he is a huge threat to everyone that he likes to toy with people. While the main characters stand out a lot with great performances from talented actors, same can't be said for the side characters. The runtime hurts the time onscreen for these characters that they come across as entirely unnecessary or pointless to the story and film overall. Side characters such as Jake's mother, the asshole stepfather, Jake's best friend, the girl from Midworld that keeps gazing at Jake, and the side villains working as lackeys show up and leave faster than you realize. Perhaps they were supposed to be more noteworthy in the novels or the cancelled sequels/show, but they might as well should not have been in the film whatsoever. Still, that doesn't undermine the three central characters at all.
While the directing from Nikolaj Arcel shows a lot of competence and how the filmmaker has a visual eye for the film, but it doesn't help that directors such as J.J Abrams and Ron Howard were attached to the film could have made it a much better product overall. The movie has a very grey, dull look to the film, which while reflects the grim situation, is unappealing for those that want eye candy. The cinematography is done really well though with a lot of wide scenic shots throughout, so it's not the most unpleasant film to look at. Junkie XL composed the score and it's really good, though the amazing trailer score is not used in the film whatsoever. The pacing is fast, due to the runtime, but helps the film out since there's not a lot of moments that drag on and on. The action sequences are very nicely directed and get more and more awesome to watch as the film goes on, with the climax being the strongest part of the film by entertainment alone. Outside of the climax, I really enjoyed the part of the story where The Gunslinger enters our world and both he and the world react to the foreign elements of each other such as his hospital visit and his appetite of Coca-Cola and hot dogs. Sadly, the fish out of water element is underused due to the fast pacing. I also give credit for killing off Jake's mother, who I thought would be used as a cliche where the villain kidnaps the mother in order for the hero to give himself up or try to save her. I was surprised by the choice of killing the mother and felt that the scene with Jake's realization was one of the rare powerful moments in the film. I will say that the final scene at least doesn't have a cliffhanger. It does have a lame sequel-bait nature to it, but at least the main story arc is completed to make the film fine as a stand-alone feature since the proposed cinematic universe failed to come out. So, Arcel did a basic result directing, but it's mostly thanks to the strong moments in the screenplay, composer, and cinematographer.
"The Dark Tower" is a film that has great elements, but horrible issues wrapped up in something that resembles an okay film if you were not a fan or aware of the novels. The main characters are well done thanks to the great actors attached, the action scenes are good along with some stand-out scenes of comedy and drama, the score is great, and the cinematography helps the film visually to a degree. The problems came with the basic story that is a nightmare in the canon of the novels for fans of the source material, the side characters being completely pointless to the film to begin with, and the painfully short runtime that harms the film very drastically that makes the little world-building/story/side character inclusion even worse. For me, the runtime is the biggest issue with the film and the director should have fought with Sony to keep it as long as it needed it to be. As it is, it's a decent action-adventure film that has memorable aspects, but the flaws make it for many a forgettable film. It's a shame that the sequels or show won't happen with the same cast attached, but the film is a neat one for me to watch on occasion to experience the good, but question the bad as well.
Verdict: 6.5/10. Harmless film to watch and know about. Watch if you love action, Elba, or Stephan King in general. Fans of the novels should avoid it like the plague though to avoid a headache and endless questions.
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