Gunslinger Delivers…Unless You’re a Steven King Purist

As this 2017 summer movie season starts to come to a close, we’ve seen some great films, like Wonder Woman, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Dunkirk. While The Dark Tower doesn’t quite reach the level of enjoyment those movies provided, it definitely soars above many mediocre films that came out the last few months, such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Mummy and Transformers: The Last Knight.

The Dark Tower is about a kid named Jake Chambers, who has been having visions of a man named Roland Deschain, a “Gunslinger.” Gunslingers, we learn, are peacekeepers and diplomats, who help to fight and protect others. Deschain has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O’Dim, an evil sorcerer, who is also known as the “Man in Black.”

What starts out as mere visions soon turns into reality as Jake unexpectedly finds his way into “Mid-World,” an alternate dimension where his visions take place. Now he must help Roland prevent the Man in Black from destroying the Dark Tower, a large skyscraper which holds the universe together. Should it fall, Mid-World, Jake’s world, and billions of lives will be at stake.

The movie is based on author Stephen King’s Dark Tower book series, a fact which has many critics and audiences trashing this movie because they claim the plot is incredibly unfaithful to the book. Not having read the books myself (although I really should, since I’m a massive Stephen King fan), I had no issues with the plot or characters, and can honestly say I truly enjoyed this movie.

The acting is universally fantastic in this movie, especially Idris Elba, who plays the Gunslinger with both intensity and realism. Matthew McConaughey, as the Man in Black, brings a sly, cunning personality to his character, and provides a very unsettling, but riveting presence whenever his character is on screen.

The soundtrack is equally memorable, giving off a somewhat “heroic” vibe, and parts of it reminded me of the score to Spider-Man: Homecoming.

The action sequences were amazing, and visually stunning, especially an intense fight scene and a chase scene that takes place in Mid-World, as well as the showdown between the Gunslinger and the Man in Black. Light humor sprinkled throughout the movie works surprisingly very well, and provides comic relief where it needs to be.

If I had to point out one negative, it would be that since pretty much all the other films based on Stephen King’s work are R-rated. Hearing that The Dark Tower book series is the most brutal and graphic of all King’s books, I would have preferred this to have also been R-rated. Still, even as a PG-13 flick, it’s an amazing movie.

This is one of two Stephen King movies being released this year, with the second movie, It (the remake of his earlier movie featuring a diabolical clown) arriving at theaters on Sept. 8. The Dark Tower was so much better than I thought it was going to be, I not only can’t wait to see it again, I’m also saying “bring it on” to It. I give The Dark Tower 9 out of 10 stars.