Musings on the film from someone unfamiliar with the novels
Film twitter is ablaze right now. Sadness, shock, anger, and pithy comments aplenty. Loyal devotees of Stephen King and his grand opus series The Dark Tower, recoiling from having seen this big screen adaptation. Those who follow in their wake will no doubt want to delve into what does, and what does not, make it onto the screen. Being unfamiliar with the books myself, this review will not satiate those interested in such things, but will certainly serve as a broader look at The Dark Tower for the uninitiated. Obviously seven books are going to take some condensing, but what is evident while watching is that you don’t have to be familiar with them to know that something is sorely missing from this film.
Synopsis
Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), the last Gunslinger, is locked in an eternal battle with Walter O’Dim (Matthew McConaughey), also known as the Man in Black. The Gunslinger must prevent the Man in Black from toppling the Dark Tower, the key that holds the universe together. With the fate of worlds at stake, two men collide in the ultimate battle between good and evil.
Despite the synopsis, the film focuses more on young Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), a young boy tortured after the death of his father, now in therapy to deal with his recurring nightmares of a man in black trying to destroy the world, and a gunslinger who is intent on stopping him. He finds he is cursed with a telepathic ability (a “shine”), something few children across the dimensions possess, an ability these dark forces seek to harness in their efforts to destroy the Dark Tower, a structure that protects the universe from the monsters outside of it. His visions lead him to Mid-World, where an encounter with Roland, the last of the gunslingers, sets them on a path to save existence.
This focus on the kid is one of the root flaws in the film. This duel between Roland and the Man in Black feels far more interesting and the real core of things. Taylor is fine in the role, but is rushed through a film that doesn’t feel like it truly belongs to him. Elba feels like a good fit for the role, but is sidelined in his own tale. His revenge arc feels weightless and his bond with Jake undeveloped. There’s a mentoring role hinted at, but their relationship takes jarring leaps rather than any natural course, save for one target practice sequence. Roland’s legendary status hinted at in a few scenes, but just isn’t fleshed out enough either. Likewise, McConaughey seems well suited to the malevolent entity he portrays, but only gets to cut loose in fleeting moments, spending most of his time brooding in an office. With the leads getting so little development, it’s no wonder the supporting cast are even more overlooked. How do you cast Fran Kranz and do absolutely nothing with him?
All these issues obviously stem from a script that is lacking anything in terms of dramatic flow or growth that weaves through this grand tale on a path of least resistance. The closest analogy is that it feels as if someone has tried to make a sandwich, but in an attempt to make the process easier and more palatable, all they’re serving is the bread. There’s no flair, depth, or anything that adds flavor. Direction is perfunctory, the soundtrack belongs in a TV movie, and the film looks horrendously cheap in parts, exacerbated by clunky CGI and sets that look like they’re straight out of an episode of Stargate SG1. There are a few laughs, usually from the ‘fish out of water’ effect of transplanting Roland to New York. Action-wise it’s plodding, until the film rouses from its slumber for a few minutes near the end, as Roland, fueled by sugar and painkillers, unleashes his full ability on Walter’s minions. It’s an impressive sequence, and suggestive that the rest of the film and indeed the audience would benefit from a hefty dose of these stimulants to get through it all. The Dark Tower somehow manages to feel incredibly lethargic and rushed at the same time. 95 minutes is insufficient. Even 195 minutes may not have sufficed. Time was needed for the story and characters to breath, to develop, to add texture and depth. Instead, we have a compromised vision of something that deserves much better.
As adaptations of King’s work goes, The Dark Tower is a fairly serviceable entry, not that it stands in such esteemed company. Serviceable is however insufficient in this instance, with the film hinting at a grandeur in the source material that makes its flaws all the more glaring. This is a tale that feels vastly incomplete, in need of more depth and scale. The Dark Tower is an adaptation sorely lacking ambition, that isn’t just lost in translation, it’s miles away from where it should be.
The Dark Tower is in theaters from August 4th