Review of The Dark Tower (2017) by Mirandmr — 05 Aug 2017

I was originally excited to see this movie when the 1st trailer came out... I hadn't read the books but researched the concepts for the film, getting a general idea of the overarching story. When all the buzz seemed to indicate the movie was a disappointment, I elected to see the film anyway and kept an open mind. If nothing else I'd probably like the leading actors' performance and would see some cool cinematography. The rest of the folks in the theater that saw The Dark Tower with me I think all felt the same way: 'this isn't getting a great buzz, but let's see what it has to offer'.

The Dark Tower gives us a glimpse into a gritty reality, one that ties into visually fantastic worlds and concepts, and portrays characters that were interesting and intriguing; characters you end up liking and if anything, you want to see more of what they have to offer. The movie makes me WANT to read the books; I’m not a filmmaker/film critic/in the film industry, but I would venture a guess that the intended outcome of this film was to get folks interested in the series and for me they succeeded. The film has a "young" director; Nikolaj Arcel has not made that many movies from what I can tell, and this I think shows: if you are looking for flaws in this film you WILL find them… I suppose I’m just willing to forgive the occasional flaw for the sake of having a good time.

We live in a day and age where people want to find things to be upset about, sadly enough. I liked The Dark Tower; it was fun, visually impressive, and only once or twice did its film-making flaws really feel apparent enough to distract.

I walked away from this film enjoying the overall movie-going experience. It's sad that the film's positive qualities are getting overlooked so much... there's a good time to be had with this film if you're willing to let yourself have it.