Synopsis
The Dark Tower is an American neo-Western fantasy film released in 2017, directed by Nikolaj Arcel. The movie is a loose adaptation of Stephen King’s saga consisting of eight books. Unlike the novels which have multiple layers and are complex, the film adapts into a singular concise storyline which is 95 minutes long. Attempting to portray the epic good vs evil conflict that exists in King’s works, the movie instead offers a version which caters to all audiences regardless of age.
The film follows Jake Chambers an eleven year old boy from New York dealing with grief who suffers dreams involving a tower, a man dressed in black and a gunslinger. Along with images showing barren land, monstrous beings and apocalyptic destruction. Therapists and family dismiss these claims imagining them to be trauma symptoms resulting from his father’s death. Ultimately leading to the version of reality where his visions actual exist and are linked to Mid-World parallel dimension.
In Mid-World, Jake meets up with Roland Deschain—the last Gunslinger. He is a stoic and deeply scarred warrior who bears the responsibility of defending the Dark Tower. This structure binds all realities together and is fiercely guarded by Roland’s enemy, Walter Padick—also known as the Man in Black. Walter is an evil sorcerer whose life goal is to lay waste to the Tower and bring on a cataclysm that shatters all worlds into chaos. Using psychic children from different realities as his puppets, he strives to attack the Tower. In this scenario, Jake becomes a prime candidate because of his powerful psychic ability referred to as “the Shine.”
While working with Jake, Roland faces further challenges trying to rescue him because both of them possess strong enemies which they are forced to fight across time and space including Earth and Mid World themselves. At first, Roland was hesitant owing to emotional connections given how hauntingly tragic his life has been after losing loved ones including his father alongside comrades yet was eventually inspired through Jake’s unbounding courage along with profound insights pushed towards discovering once again the emotionally fulfilling parts from being a protector filled hero.
The climax of the film focuses on a final battle between Roland and Walter, where the Tower—and all of reality—hangs in the balance. In the film’s action-packed conclusion, Jake summons his psychic abilities to assist Roland in thwarting Walter’s nefarious plans, providing ample potential for sequels that are yet to be released.
Cast & Crew
Director:
Nikolaj Arcel is a Danish filmmaker who is known for integrating genre elements into character-driven stories. He undertook the challenging task of adapting the sprawling continuum of Stephen King’s works. As an adapter, he has made eldritch choices within his control to render accessible for viewers unversed with the source material.
Screenwriters:
Akiva Goldsman, Jeff Pinkner, Anders Thomas Jensen and Nikolaj Arcel collaborated on this screenplay which endeavored to construct a self-contained cinematic narrative derived from several books in the series with blended elements of streamlined plot structure.
Based on the novels by:
Stephen King
Main Cast:
Idris Elba as Roland Deschain: The Gunslinger is a heroic, solitary character whose devotion lies in defending The Tower at any price.
Matthew McConaughey as Walter Padick: The Man in Black is a cruel manipulative sorcerer and Roland’s arch-nemesis.
Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers—an emotionally relatable character and gifted child around whom the film’s story revolves.
Claudia Kim as Arra – a supporting role from Mid-World.
Fran Kranz as Pimli – Walter’s assistant.
Abbey Lee as Tirana – one of Walter’s enforcers.
Jackie Earle Haley as Sayre – telepathic servant of Walter.
Dennis Haysbert as Steven Deschain – Roland’s father featured in flashbacks.
Katheryn Winnick as Laurie Chambers – mother to Jake.
Producers:
The film’s producers, Akiva Goldsman, Ron Howard and Erica Huggins, were instrumental in securing rights and managing the adaptation process.
Cinematography:
With Rasmus Videbæk, we get a blend of Mid-World’s gritty, western-influenced landscapes, and modern New York City. While his cinematography captures the mystical essence of the story, some critics considered the visual effects lacking.
Editing: Tremors – The Ellis Documentary series
Untitled Nas Documentary
Alan Edward Bell and Dan Zimmerman worked on editing for this film. Having such a fast pace granted the film a tight runtime, which ended up being one of the film’s points of critique– oversimplifying the story due to lack of depth.
Music:
The score was composed by Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL). His soundtrack employs orchestral themes interspersed with modern timbres to create an atmospheric backdrop that supports rather than dominates portions of the movie.
IMDb Evaluations
The Dark Tower as a film adaptation has received a rating of 5.6 out of 10 on IMDb with over 150,000 reviews. The audience reception seems to be mixed at best as viewers who read King’s novels were unhappy due to the film’s radical departures from the source material and its shortening of an incredibly intricate story.
Critics shared similar sentiments. Though Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey received accolades for their commanding performances, the screenplay drawn praise from critics for its simplicity, which many considered excessive. Additionally, the tonal direction came under fire for attempting to straddle both sides of a coming-of-age lite fantasy geared towards young adult audiences and the far more serious and philosophical demeanor expected from the books.
Some fans found some merit in viewing the movie as an entry point into the more extensive lore associated with Dark Tower. To this, King himself remarked calling it “more of a sequel to books rather than direct adaptation” which baffled some while captivating others.Conclusion
With The Dark Tower (2017), we see both boldness and flaws in equal measure when attempting to translate King’s literary universe into a mainstream film. It is no surprise that attempts at condensing a rich, philosophically layered saga such as “The Dark Tower” into a single, preferably action-oriented movie poses an enormous challenge—for the filmmakers struggled with it. Although there was promise held by casting Idris Elba alongside Matthew McConaughey as dual opposites and an intriguing central premise, much of the cinematic potential remained untapped.
As it stands, my sense of curiosity alongside preexisting knowledge of King’s work serves me well. In so doing I venture to note both intrigue and introduction where once—if one were to discard conveyor depth, nuance and masterful world-building—the love for genre-defying fantasy achieving was still present in literature form overshadowed by pure failure captured in this film. Plans for sequel and spinoff releases were laid buried purposefully paradoxial—all controversial additions stood untouched, paradox contradicted only by King adaptations’ name.
Watch Free Movies on Fmovies