Review of The Dark Tower (2017) by Samforsyth — 09 Aug 2017

The Dark Tower was a good movie. I feel like I’m not allowed to say that unless I explain myself, so here goes:

I think this movie should have been called “The Gunslinger” because it was about a gunslinger rescuing a boy from a bad guy. And it does a good job of telling that story.

Calling the movie “The Dark Tower” sets up the expectation that the movie will be about the Dark Tower, but its not. We barely see the Dark Tower, and no action whatever takes place there.

I think SONY did a very awful job of properly promoting this project, and properly setting the audience’s expectations. It should have been made crystal clear that this was not an attempt to tell the stories from the novels, but rather, an attempt to tell a simple story that will introduce key characters, themes, and mysteries that exist in the Dark Tower universe.

It should have been made clear that this was an introduction to this universe, and not the beginning, middle and end of it.

It should have been made clear that the characters, themes, and mysteries that were introduced in this movie were not going to be addressed in depth in this film, but instead, will be fleshed out through upcoming TV series and movie sequels.

If a person knows all that going in, there is a much better chance that they could just relax and enjoy the show. Unfortunately, and through no fault of their own, the viewers just had no idea what to expect going in, and were turned off by a simple quick storyline, huge themes and mysteries being mentioned and then never addressed again, and feeling like they were JUST getting to know the characters just as the thing ended.

I’m super bummed about the bad reviews and the low box office, because now I fear this project will be abandoned… I certainly hope not. But Sony really screwed up.