The Dark Tower took about a decade to make it from page to screen, once being in the hands of sci-fi mastermind J.J. Abrams. The movie is most definitely worth the wait, especially for someone like me who has read zero Dark Tower books. It felt like a much, much more science fiction version of one of my favorite movies: Last Action Hero.
If you're thinking to yourself "Last Action Hero?" in a sarcastic tone, you can go right ahead and shut it. Yes, your brain. Shut your brain.
In Dark Tower, instead of Earth Prime Arnold Schwarzenegger and the often nefarious Charles Dance, we have the perma-stoic Idris Elba and the very versatile Matthew McConaughey. Elba and McConaughey make for a perfectly polarizing pair, and it's a case of when actors make the lines/character they are given better by just being them. No matter how awful the things ol' Matty Ice did were, I couldn't get over how damn cool he was while doing them. It matters none that Walter Padick is the lamest sorcerer name, like, ever.
If you're thinking to yourself "Last Action Hero?" in a sarcastic tone, you can go right ahead and shut it. Yes, your brain. Shut your brain.
In Dark Tower, instead of Earth Prime Arnold Schwarzenegger and the often nefarious Charles Dance, we have the perma-stoic Idris Elba and the very versatile Matthew McConaughey. Elba and McConaughey make for a perfectly polarizing pair, and it's a case of when actors make the lines/character they are given better by just being them. No matter how awful the things ol' Matty Ice did were, I couldn't get over how damn cool he was while doing them. It matters none that Walter Padick is the lamest sorcerer name, like, ever.
Tom Taylor plays our young man thrust into a whole new world; Jake Chambers is your prototypical troubled-because-I-have-special-powers teenager. Dialogue between Jake and Elba's character, Roland Deschain, ranges from Wonder Woman to... well... Last Action Hero in terms of the funnies (LAH being on the higher end of comedic value, of course). I'm surprised at how many real chuckles it got out of me.
I was not prepared for this movie to be as good as it was. I knew it would be a movie I'd like, but not this much. It was very, very sci-fi and that's right up my dark alley. It certainly grabbed my attention very early on and never let go. I almost regret not seeing it in the theater.
Almost.
The Dark Tower is out now on DVD/Blu-Ray and is available for digital download through Amazon and whatnot (see link at top of page). If you're interested in the books, look below at links to find them on Amazon.
IMDb: 5.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 16% (wait, WTF?)
Verdict: Should See That
I was not prepared for this movie to be as good as it was. I knew it would be a movie I'd like, but not this much. It was very, very sci-fi and that's right up my dark alley. It certainly grabbed my attention very early on and never let go. I almost regret not seeing it in the theater.
Almost.
The Dark Tower is out now on DVD/Blu-Ray and is available for digital download through Amazon and whatnot (see link at top of page). If you're interested in the books, look below at links to find them on Amazon.
IMDb: 5.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 16% (wait, WTF?)
Verdict: Should See That