Saturday, August 5, 2017

The Dark Tower Movie Review

Idris Elba stars in The Dark Tower

All Hail the Crimson King

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: There are other worlds than these. Stephen King's The Dark Tower, the ambitious and expansive story from one of the world's most celebrated authors, makes its launch to the big screen. The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim, also known as the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black. Directed by Nikolaj Arcel.


The Man in Black declares, "Tall, dark and handsome is about to crash the party." And crash it, he does (in typical McConaughey fashion.) The Dark Tower boasts an Oscar winner, the next 007 (fingers crossed) and a much ballyhooed story; but a combination of cheesy special effects and sloppy editing (Alan Edward Bell, Dan Zimmerman) crammed into a conspicuously short 95-minute runtime screams "one and done," versus the Marvel-like franchise fans hoped for. Better than average, but not enough backstory (especially Roland/Walter) and too much time in a low-budget Mid-World. Standard August blockbuster-wannabe fare, with glimpses of grandeur.

Grade: C+