THE DARK TOWER - **/*****

By Kal Vilmer

“Why doesn’t he use guns that can shoot more than 6 bullets?”

 As someone who has never read, “The Dark Tower” series, I had the privilege of going into this movie with no expectations.  Which upon viewing, I find might be the only way to find enjoyment in this story. As an adaptation of the sprawling epic tale of the last Gunslinger - warriors tasked with protecting the Dark Tower, a barrier keeping unspeakable evils from destroying all worlds - as he travels across Mid-World to avenge his father’s death by the hands of the mysterious Man in Black, it seems to lack the grand scale of most summer blockbusters with the story feeling more like the conclusion of an epic rivalry that isn’t quite earned. Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey are the saving grace of this movie and do their best with what they are given to work with, Elba the broken-yet-stoic hero, and McConaughey enjoying a five course meal of scenery that he gloriously chews. On the other end of the spectrum you have Tom Taylor doing his best Andrew Lawrence impression and the movie suffers for it. The compelling aspects of the story seem to be undercut by Taylor and the story’s tendency to service his character above all others. The interesting ideas woven into the film, particularly the history between Elba’s Roland and Mcconaughey’s Walter, are rich with pathos. However, that isn’t the movie Nikolaj Arcel wanted to make. Instead we are left with a check list of Stephen King tropes and references in a movie that is serviceable, and therein lies the problem: nothing in this movie is especially, “Stand out.” The CGI is acceptable, excelling in world building with its landscapes and structures, but ultimately falling short whenever an action scene leans heavily on it. The biggest downfall, however, comes in the choices made by the sound design department: the sandalwood guns used by the Gunslinger sound muffled, and hold no force or sense of power behind their shots, which ultimately takes most of the excitement out of every encounter between the Gunslinger and the foe he is facing. This combined with the subpar CGI leaves each action set piece feeling lackluster. Apart from the negative aspects I have laid out, this movie is entertaining overall, and does not overstay its welcome. The Dark Tower is not so much an adaptation of any one story in the series, but Nikolaj Arcel’s interpretation of an adaptation, taking aspects and ideas from eight stories and packaging them into one movie. There is a good story hidden in the background of yet another movie about a troubled youth who is humanity’s only hope to stop the evil threatening this world, and is, of course, limited by a sexy mother, portrayed by the beautiful Katheryn Winnick, and cold uncaring step father who do not believe in his abilities. In a world of franchises, The Dark Tower does an adequate job of telling a self-contained story that definitely has roads to explore within it’s mythology. Skip the theater and wait for HBO to broadcast this one, worth your time but not your money - 2 out of 5 stars.