The Dark Tower
Based on Stephen King's novel series, The Dark Tower stars Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, a gunslinger hoping to preserve his dying world by reaching the titular tower. Matthew McConaughey co-stars as the film's mysterious villain, pursued by Deschain. To quote King's opening sentence, "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed".
- Director:
- Nikolaj Arcel ('A Royal Affair', 'Truth About Men', 'Island of Lost Souls')
- Writer:
- Nikolaj ArcelAkiva GoldsmanAnders Thomas JensenJeff Pinkner
- Cast:
- Idris ElbaMatthew McConaugheyAbbey LeeKatheryn WinnickJackie Earle HaleyClaudia KimNicholas HamiltonFran Kranz
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Steve Newall
flicksRelegating the killer opening line of Stephen King’s sprawling saga - "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed” - to mid-film voiceover immediately gets this already-maligned adaptation off on the wrong foot. It’s a sign of what’s to come in this reinterpretation that misses so much of what makes The Dark Tower series tick that it’ll let down fans as much as it perplexes newcomers.
The Lame Tower
‘The Dark Tower’ chose to only borrow a few ideas from the source material and instead made up it’s own story. Some of the acting is great, some of the action sequences are good and you can definitely see the awesome epic it could be, but it is just way too rushed and way to heavy-handedly done to make us even care.
Variety
pressIt's a highly competent and watchable paranoid metaphysical video game that doesn't overstay its welcome, includes some luridly entertaining visual effects, and - it has to be said - summons an emotional impact of close to zero.
Time Out
pressOnscreen, The Dark Tower serves up a generic, half-baked scenario no different from a slew of better-known YA properties in which young, wide-eyed protagonists discover their connections to a hidden fantastical world.
The New York Times
pressAbout the only thing holding it together is Idris Elba, whose irrepressible magnetism and man-of-stone solidity anchors this mess but can't redeem it.
Stuff
pressThe Dark Tower, even as a standalone movie, had plenty of potential. But the script is a bloviate mutt.
Rolling Stone
pressSo much is so wrong about this stunted film version of Stephen King's marvelously dense and dazzling series of eight novels, that all I can say is this unholy mess shouldn't happen to a King, much less a paying customer.
Hollywood Reporter
pressHeaven knows, the books offer more invention than could fit in one feature film, but in their effort to introduce newcomers to this world, the filmmakers make the saga's contents look not archetypal but generic and cobbled together.
Empire Magazine
pressElba is genuinely great as the tormented Roland, but the film does its best to suffocate him under a mountain of plot-heavy nonsense. Disappointing.
Flicks, Steve Newall
flicksRelegating the killer opening line of Stephen King’s sprawling saga - "The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed” - to mid-film voiceover immediately gets this already-maligned adaptation off on the wrong foot. It’s a sign of what’s to come in this reinterpretation that misses so much of what makes The Dark Tower series tick that it’ll let down fans as much as it perplexes newcomers.
Variety
pressIt's a highly competent and watchable paranoid metaphysical video game that doesn't overstay its welcome, includes some luridly entertaining visual effects, and - it has to be said - summons an emotional impact of close to zero.
Time Out
pressOnscreen, The Dark Tower serves up a generic, half-baked scenario no different from a slew of better-known YA properties in which young, wide-eyed protagonists discover their connections to a hidden fantastical world.
The New York Times
pressAbout the only thing holding it together is Idris Elba, whose irrepressible magnetism and man-of-stone solidity anchors this mess but can't redeem it.
Stuff
pressThe Dark Tower, even as a standalone movie, had plenty of potential. But the script is a bloviate mutt.
Rolling Stone
pressSo much is so wrong about this stunted film version of Stephen King's marvelously dense and dazzling series of eight novels, that all I can say is this unholy mess shouldn't happen to a King, much less a paying customer.
Hollywood Reporter
pressHeaven knows, the books offer more invention than could fit in one feature film, but in their effort to introduce newcomers to this world, the filmmakers make the saga's contents look not archetypal but generic and cobbled together.
Empire Magazine
pressElba is genuinely great as the tormented Roland, but the film does its best to suffocate him under a mountain of plot-heavy nonsense. Disappointing.
The Lame Tower
‘The Dark Tower’ chose to only borrow a few ideas from the source material and instead made up it’s own story. Some of the acting is great, some of the action sequences are good and you can definitely see the awesome epic it could be, but it is just way too rushed and way to heavy-handedly done to make us even care.
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