More Inspiration than Adaptation, "The Dark Tower" Is a Fun Ride Through the Mind of Stephen King

   

   When it comes to book-to-film adaptations, it is very rare that a film is able to do justice to its source material. For this optimistic critic, The Lord of the Rings films are probably one of the best examples of not only getting the spirit of the novels right, but capturing the magic and awe from the page to the big screen. Some may disagree, but in my book its one of the best adaptations to date. In just about every case, the book is always better than the movie, and given that both are separate narrative mediums I don't think there will ever be a situation where book and movie are held at equal footing. With that in mind, we look to this weekend's new releases. One of the most prolific writers of our time, Stephen King, has built a reputation for delivering horrific, tense, engaging, and highly entertaining narratives that span the course of many decades. One of the first authors I read and engaged with, King is a masterful storyteller that has had a profound effect on readers for many, many years. Many of his stories have been adapted into movies and television specials, and most of them fall short to the majesty of their source material. At the center of his vast library stands his Dark Tower series; considered his grand opus, the Dark Tower series spans eight books and connects a lot of his other works together in this vast King Universe. When I heard that a movie was finally being made I was stoked. That movie opens this weekend and despite the long road it took to get here, and the backlash of negative criticism, The Dark Tower isn't nearly as bad as it is said to be. It's actually quite good. Flawed...but good.

   Fans of the books are going to be the harshest critics. As a fan, I wish they had taken the approach of adapting the series individually, book by book. It would have been difficult, they get pretty dense as you move through, but Lord of the Rings is REALLY dense, and look how that turned out. The Dark Tower is kind of an adaptation/inspiration/sequel to the series. I get how weird that sounds, but its true. The movie pulls mostly from the first and third books in the series, while at the same time spanning moments from the entirety of the series within the span of one film. I guess if you were to try and boil it down simply, The Dark Tower as a film was mostly "inspired" by the series, and for what its worth - speaking as a fan of the books and a fan of film who also realizes that adaptations are never as good as the books - the movie captures the spirit of the books pretty well and manages to maintain a level of entertainment that kept me engaged throughout.

   The movie follows the story of Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), a young boy who experiences visions, which he thinks are dreams; visions of a tower, a gunslinger, and a man in black. He soon learns that these visions are real as he travels to a parallel version of Earth called Mid-World. On Mid-World, the last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim (Matthew McConaughey), an evil sorcerer 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 collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black. The books showcase the epitome of good versus evil, and this movie captures that ideal perfectly. It's a simple story, one that moves at a pretty quick pace, which has both good and bad aspects to it.

 
   Let's start with the good stuff. The acting in this movie is really well done. Idris Elba is an interesting cast choice for the role of Roland, however he pulls it off really well. Within the novels, the Gunslingers are more like knights than cowboys, and Roland is unique in that when we meet him he is the last of his kind. Idris Elba is a fantastic actor to begin with and he does a great job with what he's given. Tom Taylor as Jake is probably the stand out performance. He has a lot to carry in this movie and he does so really well. The chemistry between Elba and Taylor is really good, which heightens the movie that much more. At the other end of the spectrum you've got the charisma and presence of  Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black, and he oozes with devilish charm throughout.

   The action in this movie is really fun, though there isn't as much as I would have expected. The movie is a bit of a slow burn at the beginning and gradually picks up steam as it goes. But the climax of the film we get to see the Gunslinger in his true glory at it is fantastic. The pacing of this movie is something to consider, because I think some people might be turned off by it. My suggestion is to keep with it. For fans of the books there are aspects of this movie that are very "inside baseball" where things are introduced but not really explained in full, but if you've read you'll know. Overall I think it's okay, because ultimately it doesn't detract from the story. There is enough there to get what's going on. For example there are creatures and aspects of the world that are introduced but not really developed. Where someone would sit back and wish to know more, in regards to the story presented you almost don't need to know. The narrative does a good job at illuminating the purpose of these story aspects in regards to the narrative as a whole, however they are more surface-level than anything. I feel as I write this that this either sounds cryptic or just doesn't make sense. I could explain it further but doing so would open up a can of spoilers so I'll just say to open your mind when you see the movie and just roll with it. If you've read the books you'll know the details behind certain things more so than others. There are also a ton of easter eggs from King's other works that help illustrate the connectivity of the series and his other works, but none of them are really explained or hold relevance to the story. I guess that's why they're easter eggs, duh.

   From start to finish this movie works. There is a narrative that seems to flow, that gives you just enough information to understand the plot, but leaves you wanting more. As a film, the movie has great acting, engaging storytelling (despite the lack of exposition), fun action and some really great emotional moments. The Dark Tower is a movie that captures the spirit of the novels while being more of an inspired telling rather than a full-on adaptation. As a fan of the books, I enjoyed it for what it was. Do you need to have read the books to understand the movie? No. I think people will enjoy it regardless. As a film fan in general I hope this movie does well because this would be an awesome world to revisit. I recommend this movie whole-heartily. Though it lacks in areas of story development, it plays as a stright-forward, surface-level narrative. I dug it, and I think most people will, too.