The Dark Tower is based on Stephen King’s popular, best-selling series and it’s a misfire both literally and figuratively. Whether it stays true to the books is one thing; it just doesn’t make for a very exciting or interesting movie.
It stars Idris Elba as the Gunslinger a.k.a. Roland Deschain who exists in an alternate dimension and is brought to Earth by 11-year-old Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), a deeply troubled young kid who draws images of a dark tower that protects both the Gunslinger’s world and the fate of Earth from total annihilation.
Matthew McConaughey stars as Walter o’Dim a.k.a. the Man in Black, an evil sorcerer who is bent on destroying the Dark Tower and reigning chaos on both worlds.
While trying to complete their mission, Jake also teaches Roland about the ways of Earth and in particular once Roland is injured at one point, he wants no treatment for his injuries. It’s a very little bright spot in an otherwise dismal film.
Elba and McConaughey do what they can, but they end up giving ho-hum performances in this supernatural western amidst a dull story and even duller special effects. McConaughey specifically displays either one of two emotions: Dry or hamming it up. There are some scenes that looks like he only took this role for a paycheck.
As I said before, this is based on a series of King’s books, but I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks this is going to be a great series of movies. My belief is that this is going to be a costly dud that won’t spawn a new franchise.
Grade: C
(Rated PG-13 for thematic material including sequences of gun violence and action.)
