Review of The Dark Tower (2017) by Shpostal — 04 Aug 2017

I expected better, to start right off the bat. Much better. Yet another Stephen King saga set to film with some promise, but manages to come up short. I submit the original "Rose Red" and "It" for evidence, two movies that are impossibly long, and twice as dull.

So at least "The Dark Tower" spares us the monotony, but even with the prospect of Matthew McConaughey as a sorcerer set to destroy the Universe which is protected by The Tower, the film never bothering to explain how, and the fine actor Idris Elba, fails to grip the imagination.

What matters here is the lack of intensity, emotion, and frightening moments you ought to expect given the premise. McConaughey does not come across as evil as he is supposed to be, nor do his followers.

For a character supposedly the last great cosmic Gunslinger, Elba does not connect, and that's really the fault of the script. This movie is disjointed, fails to involve the viewer, and worst of all, comes across as yet one more hack sci-fi/superhero cliche.

King's formulas have run their course, and the lack of fresh approaches to what could have been a good movie in better hands is wasted. For a film about impending apocalypse, we're left thinking it will be a boring one.