The Dark Tower (2017)

Review

95min

Genre:     Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Director:  Nikolaj Arcel

Cast:       Tom Taylor, Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey…and more

Writers:   Stephen King, Akiva Goldsman, Nikolaj Arcel… and more

-Synopsis-

When troubled New York teen ‘Jake’ discovers that his nightmares of a distant dying world are in fact premonitions, he travels to a parallel dimension and meets ‘The Gunslinger’—last of an order of knights which protects his world from the ‘Man in Black’, and the apocalypse he brings. Together they struggle to stop the evil sorcerer and protect the mythical ‘dark tower’—which safeguards the universe from darkness—but Jake soon discovers that his own abilities make him a target in his quest to protect both worlds.

Perhaps no author in recent history has produced more high quality tales along a wider thematic range, spawning countless film adaptations, than the great Stephen King. From iconic classic horror like ‘Carrie’ and ‘The Shinning’, to subtle supernatural drama like ‘The Green Mile’ and unforgettable tales of humanity such as ‘The Shawshank Redemption’—not to mention dystopian sci-fi ‘The Running Man’ and coming-of-age classic ‘Stand By Me’. Now his adventure/fantasy sensibilities are brought to the silver screen, as Danish writer/director Nikolaj Arcel (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, A Royal Affair) attempts to adapt arguably King’s broadest and certainly his most expansive piece of work, the eight-book series and gateway to the King ‘multiverse’ ‘The Dark Tower’.

Young Tom Taylor stars as Jake, a modern teen struggling with family strife and dark fantastical visions in sceptical times, only to have his horizons expanded when he discovers a world beyond his own, and is thrown into an inter-dimensional struggle for survival. Protected by gun-slinging knight ‘Roland Deschain’ (Idris Elba) and hunted by a dark sorcerer (Matthew McConaughey) and his army of skin-swapping minions from a desolate world—an unlikely partnership forms to save a mythical monolith, and the universe it protects, from falling into permanent darkness.

Given ‘The Dark Tower’s’ long and troubled road from book to screen—which has involved a proposed trilogy and TV series, several studios and names like Ron Howard and Russell Crowe—Arcel and the producers at Sony seemed destined to struggle to bring King’s considerable vision to movie audiences, or at least give it an auspicious start. But unlike the many films in Hollywood history which ultimately benefited from the turmoil surrounding their conception and production, this is one that hasn’t, and which unfortunately has earned its less-than-flattering reception thus far.

For a big studio Hollywood picture with a modest budget, ‘The Dark Tower’ makes good use of its limited resources by putting together a few impressive six-shooter centric action scenes and some beautifully shot landscapes, all airbrushed with plenty of CGI of course. Plus some impressive production designs to bring to life a Western-inspired, post-apocalyptic world with dark magic and a touch of futuristic technology—and once again Dutch DJ/composer Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL) gives us another dynamic score to drive it all.

But without the compelling narrative for them to serve, the stylistic elements feel like window dressing, for a story so underwritten for the screen that even the sinister Southern charms of Matthew McConaughey and the undeniable gravitas and cool of Idris Elba can’t bring to life.

Instead of leveraging the many themes and influences which colour the narrative and make the characters stand out in the novels—i.e. dark fantasy tropes and classic Western motifs, coupled with elements of Arthurian legend—the film uses them as a crutch and pays paltry lip service to them. Which brings us to the fatal flaw in this cinematic adaptation—a serious lack of depth and absence of proper context.

By kicking this potential movie franchise off with a story taking place well into the book series, the narrative leaves out all-important elements of the back-story and pulls focus away from the most interesting character ‘The Gunslinger’—and frankly a few flashbacks, throwaway lines and the promise of greater exposition in sequels or different media just ain’t gonna cut it. Rather than making us more curious to learn more about these weird and wonderful people, and what may happen to them—it just makes us not care.

Ultimately Arcel, the writers and producers try to stuff too many elements into a brief 90 minute runtime, failing to really nail any single one and without the narrative depth to underpin any of them, in this lavish but subdued genre mashup. The result is a well-crafted but interchangeable Hollywood blockbuster with very little soul, watchable but forgettable and leaving us with no appetite to see more . . . not something we can regularly say about a Steven King story. Yet the relatively small budget and the box office takings so far will ensure there’s life in this old dog yet, let’s just hope the upcoming TV series lives up to the novels . . . and foregoes the need for a sequel.

The Bottom Line…

Despite some stylish visuals and a few entertaining action-set pieces, ‘The Dark Tower’ amounts to forgettable movie fantasy and uninspired studio filmmaking by committee—which can’t be saved by the considerable talents of its two adult leads. A distinctly inauspicious start to a cinematic franchise which may be over before it’s begun, and one of the more underwhelming movie adaptations of Stephen King fiction in recent memory.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Last Witch Hunter (2015)

Vin Diesel stars as a 12th Century warrior turned immortal witch-hunter who’s spent 800 years keeping the peace between humans and those with dark powers. Now in 21st Century New York, he must again fight the dark resurrected menace that cursed him with eternal life and now threatens humanity.

Directed by Breck Eisner and starring Vin Diesel, Rose Leslie and Michael Caine among others.

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