Phillip Reviews: The Dark Tower (2017)

Phillip873 This is my first review. Enjoy! Also there will be NO spoilers!

So I just saw "The Dark Tower" with my father and brother. Now my father LOVES the dark tower book series, and he had a different perspective than me. I will review the movie based on how I felt about it but I will include some of my Dad's perspective.

Plot Synopsis:
The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain [Idris Elba] has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim, [Matthew McConaughey] also known as the Man in Black, 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 (accompanied by Jake Chambers [Tom Taylor]) can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.NOTE: This plot synopsis sucks but it's the only one I can find ATM.

The Story:
So my father liked to talk about this book series a lot. The book is ABSOLUTELY much bigger than the movie. But I don't think the movie's main intention was to make something just like the book. The point is that the story of this movie is exponentially smaller than the actual book series, they combine parts of all the books together to make one story. Anyway, the story begins with Jake Chambers having nightmares about "The Man in Black" and how he wants to destroy the universe. He is seen as a crazy person by his mom and his peers. However, he has to escape after his mom sent him to some kind of therapy school, as the "people" (they aren't really people, but in disguise) are working for the Man in Black, and they need Jake's brain power to help destroy the Dark Tower (which holds the universe together). After escaping, he finds a portal that can travel to different parts of the universe. He goes to "19-19" as seen in his dreams, where he meets Roland, a gunslinger. After explaining what's happening to the confused Roland, they go off to stop/kill the Man in Black. To me the story was fine, if we're comparing it to the book (according to my father) this story has nothing on the book series. However I'm judging it as a movie, and to me it was competent to me and it made sense, even though some parts of it were a bit confusing till later. I was worried that the story wouldn't make sense after reading other critic reviews prior to me seeing it. Roland and Jake are likable enough and they do develop a brotherly type bond together throughout the movie, which is nice. Jake also seems to have the "Shine" (which is from "The Shining" which tells me all of Stephen King's books are set in the same uni/multiverse) and that's kind of cool I guess. It's not completely pointless too, as it does cause conflict for Jake as he can be tracked by the shine, but he can also use it as a weapon. This movie also had a few moments that made me laugh, a couple that made me feel a bit nervous. My favorite part though was the third act, but I can't say much without spoiling it. Overall, competent story that makes sense for the most part.

The Acting:
I thought the actors for the most part did a nice job with their characters. Idris Elba does a nice job playing Roland the gunslinger, he knew what the part had to be like. So did Tom Taylor as Jake. However I really liked Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black. He felt menacing and evil in the movie, as you can tell by his threatening attitude and his quick to kill actions. Great job on his part!

The effects/action:
So for a lot of the movie, we get some decent special effects and action, nothing too amazing and not bad, it just looked pretty cool. That was my opinion until the third act, where we got 2 BADASS fight scenes/shootouts between Roland and the Man in Black's henchmen. Seriously it was really cool in my opinion and that may be my favorite part of the movie.

Rating - 6.5/10 (Decent-Good)
Final thoughts: If you have read the dark tower book series, don't expect something like the book AT ALL and prepare to be disappointed. But if you haven't read them, this movie is competent and does have it's moments. Definitely not as bad as a lot of critics say it is (looking at you RT). If you want to kill 95 minutes with a decent action flick, I recommend this!

(Hey thanks for reading my first review, let me know if you liked it!)

Comments

This review ain't perfect, but it's pretty decent for what it's worth. You just need to work a bit more on the presentation and criticisms, though I'll be lenient since this is your first review. Not bad! - DCfnaf (9/1/2017)

Not to be rude, but can you elaborate? - Phillip873 (9/1/2017)

On the effects/action part, you say that both are decent and that they're cool...what about them is cool? Explain a bit more next time.

You don't have to do it now. I just like giving advice to other critics - DCfnaf (9/2/2017)

You my friend, a little good sign, DcFnaf started like this, and I believe you have the potential to become as big and good as he is - visitor (9/6/2017)

Good Job At Your First Review - JPK (9/21/2017)

The Dark Tower was enjoyable but nothing special - visitor (1/2/2018)

I thought it was bad a movie that was so disappointing, At least Idris Elba did a good job. - iliekpiez (10/20/2018)