The Dark Tower
2017  PG-13  FANTASY  1h 35min
CAST— Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Claudia Kim, Fran Kranz, Abbey Lee, Katheryn Winnick, Jackie Earle Haley
MUSIC— Tom Holkenborg  DIRECTOR— Nicolaj Arcel  BASED ON— The Dark Tower (novel series), by Stephen King

     Frustrating attempt at bringing the massive universe of the Dark Tower novels to the big screen. At the center of existence there stands a monolithic and mysterious Dark Tower which sustains all realities, from the mundane to the fantastic. But evil forces are trying to destroy the invisible beams that suspend the Tower; if the Tower falls every reality will crumble. Heading up these bad guys is Walter, The Man in Black, a powerful, realm-hopping minion of the Crimson King (only alluded to within the confines of the film). Pursuing Walter with dogged determination is Roland Deschain, last in a line of ancient warriors known as Gunslingers. Among the countless Walter has killed is Roland's father. Roland's goal to take murderous revenge upon Walter takes a side road when a strange contemporary New York boy named Jake appears, claiming to have dreamt of Roland, Walter, the Tower, etc. They begin to travel together, Roland protecting Jake from all manner of vision and creature as they approach Walter's base of operations. If anyone could understand the preceding synopsis, good for them. It's pretty hard to describe this type of universe with a few words. It's also hard to translate to film. The novels were thousands of pages, a mixture of weird Western and science fiction horror; this is a forgettable action-fantasy that barely tops an hour and a half (!). The film wants to be an epic tale that resonates with diehard fans and newcomers alike, but it seems too complicated for newbies, while the fans will be scoffing throughout. Hard to recommend to even the most forgiving of viewers.
OUR RATING— **