"The Dark Tower" Review

The Dark Tower is considered by many to be Stephen King’s magnum opus. Spanned across eight novels and across other media, it’s the series that sometimes connects to other stories from King. The film adaptation has been in development for quite some time, and after some false starts, the film finally came to life under the direction of Nikolaj Arcel. I feared, given the lack of promotion, that this would be this summer’s Fantastic Four. Well, the film isn’t the disaster that some thought it would be. Instead, it’s just an average film that has some good elements in it.

Described by the filmmakers as a sequel to the novels, and combining elements from the series as well, the film is about Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) who has been having nightmares about a Dark Tower and Walter Padick/The Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) who seeks to destroy the tower to let evil forces take over. In his search to find the mystery behind his visions, he suddenly gets transported to Mid-World, where he comes across another person from his dreams, Roland Deschain/The Gunslinger (Idris Elba). Together, Jake and Roland must find a way to stop the Man in Black from accomplishing his goals.

One of the things that I thought worked with the film was McConaughey’s performance as The Man in Black. He seems to be having a lot of fun chewing the scenery in every scene he’s in. McConaughey gets what film he’s in, and the way that he interacts with people and manipulates them to do his bidding is great. Elba does a good job as well playing The Gunslinger. For their characters, this was perfect casting. Whenever they interact with one another, for the most part, the film comes to life. For non-readers of the story, the screenwriters (including Arcel, Anders Thomas Jensen, Akiva Goldsman, and Jeff Pinker) do somewhat a good job in describing what the Dark Tower represents. The film is also humorous in places, especially when Roland comes to Earth. Lastly, since this is supposed to connect to other works from King, be on the lookout for references from The Shining, It, and The Shawshank Redemption to name a few.

For the first third of the film, it wasn’t bad and I enjoyed the pacing of it. Once it gets to Mid-World is when the film sadly collapses to mediocrity. Since this is a 95-minute film, it felt like it was gutted from a much longer film. It felt rushed in places, and some of the editing didn’t feel right. For example, the final battle goes so quickly that it doesn’t make that much sense. On top of this, there’s basically no character development at all in the film, and some of the characters were severely underwritten, like Katheryn Winnick’s Laurie and Jackie Earle Haley’s Sayre. Also, Taylor was somewhat bland as Jake, being very one-noted throughout the runtime. For being based on a fantasy series, most of the film takes place in NYC, as if to save cost. The monsters look isn’t imaginative and there’s some questionable CGI throughout the film. The visual look of the film wasn’t great, especially when Roland and Jake are roaming around Mid-World. The music from Tom Holkenborg isn’t memorable either. The action scenes weren’t staged particularly well, and they make the mistake of overcutting so you have no idea what’s going on.

Overall, The Dark Tower is an average film and nothing more. What could have been a fun summer film instead felt like it was compromised in places, and the filmmakers decided to play it safe instead of going for it. For fans of the series, I have a feeling that after seeing this, they might be disappointed with this adaptation. For the lofty plans that they had, which included films and a TV series, this might just be a one and done film. Like I said before, it’s not a disaster by any means, but it’s not a great film. If you’re a Stephen King fan, maybe save your money until next month when It comes out. If you do go see The Dark Tower, I would suggest go to a matinee screening or just wait until TV.

Rating: C

"Interstellar" Review

“Interstellar” may single-handedly give NASA a new crop of aspiring astronauts across the United States. The film immerses you into its world with the enthusiasm of its lead character Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) about exploring the stars, and it’s a visual marvel! It’s also an incredible ride that looses fuel twenty minutes out from landing and crashes. 

Earth is slowly wasting away, mother nature is turning on us, and our food supply is dwindling. Most humans have to be farmers in order to ensure that we might continue to live. After receiving a binary message in his daughter Murph’s (Mackenzie Foy) room, ex-astronaut turned farmer, Cooper, goes to the coordinates to find a thriving underground NASA organization. 

Cooper gets a quick education as to what the organization, headed by Professor Brand (Michael Caine) and his daughter Amelia (Anne Hathaway), has been doing out of the scrutiny of the public eye, and how they plan to save the world. Cooper then has to decide if he wants to be a part of it. In an effort to save his family, Cooper makes the decision to embark on the journey, in spite of the fact that he may miss years of their lives in traveling light years away. (There is plenty of “science” that explains things throughout the film, but it’s laid out in a user friendly way.) 

The strength of the film is in the relationship between Cooper and his kids, specifically his daughter Murph. Their bond is undeniable and his love for them drives each decision he makes, especially life and death decisions. In fact, writer/director Christopher Nolan pushes the point that love can triumph anything, including time and space. The father/daughter bond was so genuine and resonated with me so personally that if I wasn’t trying to be so cool during the press screening I think I would have cried a lot more. 

There is no question that Nolan is a visionary. The film challenges the boundaries of cinema and dares other directors to do the same. The galaxies and planets that Nolan has created are fresh, and make you wonder what’s past our skies. Hans Zimmer once again proves to be a master of musical composition with his hypnotic, eery and edgy score. Using organs and horns, the score perfectly bridges the drama between parallel stories on Earth and in space while keeping the mood off-kilter.

Unfortunately, after investing in the well being of Cooper and his family for the first couple of acts, in the midst of the third act things start to unravel. It’s sad that all of the innovation, suspense and wonderment that is built up towards the climax is shattered by lazy writing. Regardless, more filmmakers should follow in Nolan’s shoes with efforts like this! So while the film may be worth the trip to the IMAX (you should see it in IMAX for an amazing immersing experience) this weekend, expect to see a film that swings for the stars and falls short. 

Rating: B