I do not aim with my hand. He who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye. I do not shoot with my hand. He who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind. I do not kill with my gun. He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart." Before I begin the review, I'd just like to point out that I have not read the Stephen King novels on which this film is based. I have read up on some of the overall context of the novels, but have not delved deep enough to know the characters or locations at all well. Thus, I am entering this fantasy world completely blind. In this respect, the approach has both pros and cons. The pros being I have no standard to base the movie on, and the cons being that it has the heavy duty of introducing me to his primary characters and guiding me and many other viewers into a new lore - something that can never be considered lightly. Indeed, the question remained how this was to be attempted successfully when the film is only an hour and a half.
The story, the characters and the spectacle are all cohesive, that's fair enough, and the world is easily accessible. However, there are a few detractions. The fast nature of the film, whilst it does get a chance to establish characters, the audience never gets a chance to appreciate most of them, apart from Roland and Jake. Even, Walter, the big bad of the film, is so one-dimensional, that it's hard to feel anything emotions at all towards him. The supporting characters are equally cast aside, and barely acknowledge, which means that this world doesn't seem tangible enough or empathetic enough to be believed. Roland is a great character, with a well-defined past and purpose, and Jake is given heroic and emotional stature in the film, even allowing us a moment of grief as he realises Walter killed his mother. But, other than that, even the main characters falter, as most of the film concentrates on their journey rather than their choices and actions. Speaking of action, the film has lots of it - well-directed and exciting, the final battle between Roland, the Skins and Walter was a superb set-piece and gave the ending the impact that it needed, but, generally-speaking, it's not so different from most action flicks - a few cool flips and tricks, followed by the hero saving the day - it was too predictable and unimaginative to seem in any way powerful. Again, the attack on the camp on Mid-world was well-executed and the Gunslinger trick that Roland used to save Jake was a brilliant moment, but it had already been spoiled by the trailer. Meaning that everything amazing that happens in the film has already been pre-conceived by the audience before it has even begun. The directing, in contrast, was well done, and I particularly enjoyed the landscape shots in the desert and across Mid-world, it gave the sense of an alien planet. The special effects were not overwhelming as well, although the guardian at the Keystone Earth portal was a bit disorientating as there was not much explanation for all the monsters and beings that dwelt in this new lore. The script was a bit lacklustre and amateurish, although I did enjoy the Gunslinger Creed, which was most-probably lifted from King's novel. It has a potent ring and message to it. Other than that, characters lack empathy and depth, meaning that when most of them died, the audience had no recollection to the importance of their role in the story - they were effectively dispensable anyway. Because of the short screen time, the script did not provide any exposition to Gunslinger history, Walter's sorcery, the Dark Tower or Jake's life with his father. Overall, it felt rushed and resulted in an incomplete story that had captured my interest, but not my heart. On an incredibly positive note, the acting was top notch. All the cast involved gave admirable performances, the three main characters in particular. Tom Taylor shows great promise as an actor, giving us a heartfelt performance and one that is full of flare and versatility. I can see him taking on more roles of this calibre. Idris Elba is a safe option for an action hero, and his prominent presence in all his scenes owes to his charismatic ability to capture the audience in his emotional expressions. Unfortunately, he didn't get much to work with. Matthew McConaughey, despite having been written as a villain with barely any features whatsoever, gave his performance his all - balancing between psychotic demon and cunning genius. His scene with Jake's mother was particularly terrifying, and McConaughey never fails to add his own touch of menace into the mix. Whether Stephen King appreciates this adaption of his beloved novel series is by the by. Seriously, it has a lot of potential, but it seems the filmmakers weren't brave enough to steer away from the Hollywood formula, and resulted in a rehash of pretty much most fantasy films that have been produced in the lifetime of entertainment. The ideas are all there, but it needs substance and at least an ounce of emotion to make it seem real or captivating. Because everything seems half-hearted and unfulfilling, you can't help but feel this was just a regular moneymaker, where the edges were disregarded in order to make it durable. A risk needed to be taken, and unfortunately, despite the actors' best efforts, the film falls back into a recycling formula that has been regurgitated more times than Friends has been broadcast on E4. 6.5/10
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