Is ‘The Dark Tower’ Worth Watching?

 

 

Is ‘The Dark Tower’ Worth Watching?

“The Dark Tower” a novel written by Stephen King read by millions of readers. Nikolaj Arcel, inspired by the book, directed a film based of the novel’s story. The movie begins with a young teenage boy, Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), an outcast at school, and a reject at home, cursed with nightmares, or blessed with visions? Jake is forced to follow his calling through unfortunate events, leading him to the man in his dreams, Roland, The Gunslinger. (Idris Elba) Roland and Jake travel through different worlds, fighting different demons and monsters, all in attempt to locate the Man in Black, (Mathew McConaughey) who’s doing everything in his might to destroy the very thing Roland swore to protect, The Dark Tower. An action-packed movie filled with bullets flying, usage of magic, and powerful visions! “The Full Package” (The Dark Tower movie reference)

 The entire film had me out of my seat, full of questions, full of thrill, and best of all, full of exciting entertainment. The deep enchanting voice, connected to the stone-cold acting of Idris Elba, contrasted with the charming personality of Mathew McConaughey’s portrayal of the villain in the story, to create an interesting experience. The mix of Elba’s tall, dark, and handsome energy and McConaughey’s clever, and cunning trickster mindset give the audience a mixture of both righteous and evil.

One of the aesthetics of the film gives close to a western, cowboy feeling to it, the different words and different ways the characters express themselves was much like those in a western movie. For example, the clothes that Roland wears were leather jackets and boots, along with his on-point, revolvers. The area of Roland’s world was full of sand mountains and hills of dirt and rocks, as like the ones in a 90s western movie. This gave the audience the feeling of being lost with the characters of the film, makes them feel as if they were in the scene as well.

On the other hand, the antagonists of the film had more of a cold, businessman vibe to him, the type who would take all your money legally by persuading you into signing your life away on a contract. The Man in Black’s personality was cold hearted, he knew what he wanted, how he was going to achieve it, and couldn’t care less who he hurt nor killed in the process. His magic was so strong it controlled everyone he came across. The only person his magic could not intervene with was The Gunslinger, Roland. This strongly gives the viewers a view of two completely different worlds, a world of magic versus a world of classic finger-pulling-triggers on silver caliber revolvers, mysteries sorcery vs stone cold bullets.

 Throughout the movie the film directors carefully pieced together powerful storytelling clues that audiences can assemble, unlocking new perspectives and knowledge on the characters and as well as the environment in the scenes. For example, the movie continuously dropped clues about Roland’s past, his father, the late Gunslingers. Revealing the fire behind the quest to kill the Man in Black, but the parts that stood out to me were the fact that the writers of the storyline included every main character evenly throughout the film. Whether it was Jake’s mind powers, Roland’s art of guns, or the Man in Black’s spells of death, helping create momentum during the movie, every scene a new key component to add to the plot.

The special effects and CGI during strong scenes increased energy and impulse. The sound of the silver bullets flying out of the Gunslinger’s weapons, hitting perfectly on his targets. CGI came into place during these guns’ scenes, showing how the bullets cut through the air, slicing through any objects in the way. The scenes that focused on Roland’s concentration, using his keen hearing to scope his target, silence in a battlefield…not one eye open…just one bullet…trigger pulled…body dropped. No amount of explanation can amount to the power the detailed scenes give off! Even the monsters and demons shown in the film were created by CGI, creatures of peer nightmares and hell, the most heinous things the human eye can witness. The CGI used to create the creatures was edited very well, the monsters look for from phony, almost as if the audience is seeing the ugly demons with the naked eye.

 All in all, if gun fights and magic spells along with dreams and visions sparks your fire of interest, most definitely recommend this film. After watching it the first time, I watched it the following day, but this time I had to share the experience with my family. Nikolaj Arcel, the director, pieced everything together perfectly with ‘The Dark Tower’, I would watch this film 100 times and yet still feel the adrenaline through the screen.