The Dark Tower (2017)

August 3, 2017 (US) • Fantasy, Action, Science Fiction • 95m

Overview

A boy haunted by visions of a parallel world aids its disillusioned guardian in preventing the destruction of the nexus of universes known as the Dark Tower.

Director

Nikolaj Arcel, Akiva Goldsman, Anders Thomas Jensen, Jeff Pinkner, Stephen King

Top Billed

Idris Elba

Keywords

mind control new york city gunslinger based on novel or book portal desert parallel world another world

Where to watch

Free / Included

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Top Billed Cast

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Reviews

chris

⭐ 7/10

August 22, 2017

ok here are my personal thought on this movie I think you can say what you want but I really liked it this movie had a lot of action and fun you really cant go wrong here the action packed fun and enjoyment mcconihey was a pure joy as the evil villain he really knows how to excite an audience you need to see this movie

chris

⭐ 7/10

August 28, 2017

ok so I walked into the theater with full expectations of this one sucking however I really had a nice time watching it this was filled with action and adventure just what you want from a end of summer flick just a good time and loads of fun at the movies

djwildbill

August 31, 2017

I liked the movie was really good. But yet a little disappointed that the movie missed so many things from the book.in my opinion this should of been done in a series setting..just my two cents

Gimly

⭐ 3/10

November 8, 2017

My hard & fast rule of "Never pay ticket price for anything with Matthew McConaughey in a leading role" has served me well once more, because though one of the biggest problems with _The Dark Tower_ was how they tried to squeeze decades of lore into 95 minute movie, the best part about it was still somehow that it was over pretty quick.

_Final rating:★½: - Boring/disappointing. Avoid where possible._

Reno

⭐ 5/10

February 4, 2018

**The dark force, the dark tower and then there's heroes!**

Based on the book of the same name. It is a book series, so we can expect a new franchise here. Another fantasy series, but is it worth is the real question. I don't know how famous is the original source, but I did not find the film any good. For me, it was another teen film like the majority of similarly themed films that flopped terribly. But here, an adult holds a prominent role t… read the rest.

SierraKiloBravo

⭐ 4/10

June 14, 2020

Click here for a video version of this review: https://youtu.be/V_PCAIQ7AvE

I’ve not read a lot of Stephen King books, but one which I read and loved was _The Gunslinger_ which is the first book in _The Dark Tower_ series. In 2017 a movie adaptation came out and was named after the series. Starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey it was hotly anticipated but was met with bad reviews on release.

Having loved _The Gunslinger_ and hearing … read the rest.

GenerationofSwine

⭐ 1/10

January 14, 2023

I guess the studio execs decided the American public wasn't smart enough to get Stephen King...you know, the Godfather of accessible fiction.

Seriously...

What in the wide, wide world of sports happened here?!!!!! Honestly, it's a King movie, it doesn't need to be good. I mean look at the body of work that was made that people actually would agree were good: The Dead Zone, The Green Mile, Stand By Me, Shawshank, Carrie (1976), and The Shini… read the rest.

Filipe Manuel Neto

⭐ 4/10

April 27, 2023

**If we often think that a movie doesn't need to have sequels, this case is the opposite: this movie should have been thought of as the beginning of a franchise of several movies.**

As far as I could tell, after some reading, this work of cinema was based on a work by Stephen King, composed of a long series of books. I'm sure the source material is good, King is one of the best and most ingenious fantastic writers of our time and his vast literary oeuvre has already made for surprising and remarkable films. What I question is the way this adaptation was made: what are eight books converted into a two-hour film? They probably only took advantage of a handful of characters and locations and threw everything else in the trash. Works like these can only be adapted in the form of trilogies, tetralogies or, in the television market, as series. Otherwise, the source material is not properly exploited in its richness.

Regardless of these issues, the film is moderately good: it all starts when the young protagonist, haunted by visions he has, finds a portal to a world he does not know, the world of his visions, and finds a Gunslinger who will help him. Deep down, he already knows the essential: the universal balance is in danger because an evil sorcerer wants to bring down the grandiose Dark Tower which, at the center of all things, harmonizes this balance and cosmic energies. I am explaining it simply and in my own words. Now the task of the two heroes is to prevent this from happening.

The best thing about this film is really the feeling of adventure, risk, the almost constant action and the way everything unfolds quickly, without dead moments. As an entertainment film, it is very good, and if we forget that it is the worst adaptation of King ever made for the cinema, we can really have a good time watching it. The big problem here is how rushed everything feels, with the film trying to do too much without having to reach its two and a half hour runtime.

The quality of the cast is another asset that makes the film work reasonably well. None of the actors are amazing, there are no great performances, but what was done is enough to push the film in the right direction: Idris Elba is charismatic and likable without ceasing to be fearsome, something his character demanded and which the actor knew to adapt. Tom Taylor also did a good job in the role of the young hero, a role where it would have been very easy to make mistakes, be superficial or ham. The villain has fallen into the shoes of Matthew McConaughey, and despite being suitably dark, he's not really a palpable threat.

Technically, the film relies heavily on CGI and effects. The film called for that, given the plot and sci-fi theme. The CGI and effects are good and work well for the most part, although there are a number of options and solutions that I would consider debatable. For example, the film never explores – nor does it have time for – the connections between parallel universes, and how there are so many people in our world who know this. The film would have gained in quality if it had been given an additional hour, or if it had been thought of as the beginning of a broader franchise, with several sequels. The cinematography is very good, the filming work is average, it has good sets, good costumes and excellent action scenes. The soundtrack, I confess, is not convincing, but it works effectively, which is already positive.

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