Based on the well-written novels by Stephen King, The Dark Tower is a story of the last Gunslinger, Roland (Idris Elba). Roland is locked in an eternal battle with Walter, aka The Man in Black (played by Matthew McConaughey), who continues to try and takedown “The Dark Tower”; the key to holding the universe together. The eternal battle takes a new turn when a young boy named Jake begins to have dreams and consequently discovers Roland’s universe, finding the gunslinger himself.

I personally had no idea of the storyline of The Dark Tower when I entered my late cinema session. After watching the film, I found it interesting to learn that the whole Dark Tower book series has a total of 8 books (or 4,250 pages to be exact!). 

Our 3 lead characters did a fantastic job, but a worthy mention goes out young actor Tom Taylor who plays the role of Jake. I also enjoyed seeing Matthew McConaughey being ‘a man of evil’ as the film’s lead villain. While the characters and visual effects earnt a thumbs up from me, and the sounds of the gunslinger’s handgun blasting around the speakers was amazing, it is the film’s pacing and overall runtime that held this film back from being a top film in 2017. Considering the Dark Tower is a massive book series, the film seems to pick and choose minor and basic details of the whole story rather than explaining anything in depth. This includes both the hearts of the characters and the universe we are introduced to. Even as the film started, I had questions from the get-go and felt like I had missed something. Throughout the story, I was curious about certain areas of the story but sadly some elements are never explained and simply skipped over. But, even due to these factors, I’m happy to say there is still fun to had if these factors can be ignored. Otherwise, The Dark Tower could not leave you feeling as invested as the Director was hoping to achieve. 

Overall, I found The Dark Tower is a brainless fantasy action film. It’s loaded with a couple of great lead actors, but if you’re keen to be invested in this massive world, you might be disappointed. In my option, there is a great story and universe here, but the film needed more time to explain and perhaps even be explained over multiple films, but instead everything is rushed and crushed into one film.

5.6/10

Thank you for visiting! Walkden Entertainment is also available on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walkdenentertainment/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/walkdenentertainment/

Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Peter_Walkden/

Review Written by Peter Walkden