'The Dark Tower' is a forgettable 'Lord of the Rings'-'Matrix' mashup

( PG-13 ) ( Monitor Movie Guide )

'Tower' stars Tom Taylor as the young Jake Chambers, whose dreams include visions of a Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) and a gunslinger (Idris Elba).

|
Ilze Kitshoff/Columbia Pictures/Sony/AP
Idris Elba (l.) and Matthew McConaughey star in 'The Dark Tower.'

I am far from a completist when it comes to Stephen King in general or his eight-book “Dark Tower” series in particular, but the hour-and-a-half movie that Danish director Nikolaj Arcel has carved out of them, with sequels in the offing, resembles nothing so much as a mashup of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Matrix” reimagined for the young adult crowd.

The best parts of the movie are its opening sequences – never a good sign. New York youngster Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), whose firefighter father has recently died, is beset with disturbing dreams in which he envisions a doomy Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) and an equally forbidding gunslinger (Idris Elba), who also favors dark duds. (He’s the good guy.) Everybody on Earth, or Keystone Earth as it’s called here, regards Jake as bonkers, but he (and we) know otherwise. He ends up passing through portals into multiverses where he becomes a participant in his own terrorscapes.

The direction is fairly formulaic, the special effects are nothing special, and except for Elba and McConaughey, who square off against each other in a series of ho-hum set pieces, the cast is forgettable. So is the movie. Grade: C (Rated PG-13 for thematic material including sequences of gun violence and action.) 

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
The Christian Science Monitor was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to “speak the truth in love.” Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.
QR Code to 'The Dark Tower' is a forgettable 'Lord of the Rings'-'Matrix' mashup
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Movies/2017/0804/The-Dark-Tower-is-a-forgettable-Lord-of-the-Rings-Matrix-mashup
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe