FILM: The Dark Tower (2017, Nikolaj Arcel)

The Dark Tower is a western-fantasy, distributed by Columbia Pictures, and is a continuation of Stephen King’s seven-part literature franchise. Eleven-year-old Jake (Tom Taylor) keeps having visions of another world, in which a Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) seeks to bring ruin to Planet Earth by attacking and destroying a Dark Tower. The only one who can stop the Man in Black is the last Gunslinger (Idris Elba). Upon realising that his visions are not dreams, but prophetic, Jake finds a portal to Mid-World, where he finds the Gunslinger, and they start working together to stop the Man in Black.

CONS

• There are countless flaws with the screenplay, the key one being the fact that the ninety minute running time means that the narrative is very rushed and quite convoluted.
• The other most glaring problem with this film is that Columbia Pictures, director Nikolaj Arcel and the screenwriting team cannot settle on a target audience. The narrative is too convoluted and rushed for a newbie to the franchise to get a coherent understanding of the universe, yet not dark enough to satisfy fans of Stephen King’s works. Visually the film is not graphic enough to satisfy fans of gritty westerns, yet uses too dark a CGI imagery to appeal to a family demographic.
• The supporting cast are altogether poor, with a number of wooden turns, and underused characters. The most disappointing cast member, however, is Matthew McConaughey, who gives a very wooden performance and is not at all threatening as the Man in Black.
• Altogether poor visual effects, with quite shoddy CGI that is quite messy on screen. The visual effects are also incredibly uninspired…why do Hollywood keep resorting to sky beams?
• The early scenes in Mid-World look like they have had an Instagram filter added to them, while there is nothing exciting about the chase sequences, due to very basic cinematography.

PROS

• Idris Elba is very authoritative as the Gunslinger, making him a very gritty character with a clear moral compass. Elba has a very good rapport with Tom Taylor, who gives a multilayered turn as Jake.
• There are a couple of tense moments in the forest, which highlight that even a character as strong and authoritative as the Gunslinger has a vulnerable side.

VERDICT: 2/10