The Dark Tower Movie Review
Grade: C
Review:
Film Info:
The Dark Tower is about Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), a boy who has recurring nightmares about a gunslinger (Idris Elba), a man in black (Matthew McConaughey), and a dark tower under attack. Since his nightmares coincide with earthquakes, Jake is certain they mean something. So when he finds a house just like the one in his dreams, he decides to venture inside and ends up in another world - the one from his dreams. Jake must find the people from his dreams and figure out why the dark tower is under attack.
This movie is insane. It’s technically terrible, but so much fun that I had a blast watching it. This movie completely embodies the phrase “so bad it’s good”. Whether it be Matthew McConaughey’s hilarious over-the-top performance, the fact that he has force powers (seriously, watch the movie), Idris Elba’s fish-out-of-water story, or the ridiculous plotholes, this movie was really enjoyable. I even enjoyed the music in the movie!
I’ve never read the source material for this movie, but you can tell that it’s adapted from something that needed a lot more time. I mean, we don’t spend any time in this new world at all and we never visit the dark tower itself. This movie sets up a lot of ridiculous lore that definitely needed more time to be developed if it wanted to be taken seriously. Some might argue that the movie was not meant to be taken seriously, but I would point to some really serious scenes (that made me laugh, by the way) as a counterpoint. Yes, the movie’s tone is uneven, but that just made me laugh more, so I appreciated it.
Starring: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor
Writer: Nikolaj Arcel, Akiva Goldsman
Director: Nikolaj Arcel
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Release date: August 4, 2017
