Ended up seeing it today, but honestly have no opinion (yet). I'm seeing it again tomorrow; I'll comment then!
Share your thoughts after viewing the movie **DEFINITE SPOILERS**
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I realized that after I posted...
yeah at first I was a little lost like "where did my post go?" no worries though
that some people have not read the books, thats what i was thinking because some feel that Idris Elba would be a good roland...
im getting a lot of comments on people asking me this, did you read the rest of my post, hello?
its been a min. since i read the last book but if my memory serves me correctly once he gets to the tower and he opens the door, roland basically goes right back to the beginning. so if you can imagine that this movie is one of those times where roland has gotten to the tower and has to start all over again.
I respect the creative decisions they made to break free from the books. I see all of the very good reasons for them to do that. I went in with an open mind and was hoping to be impressed. I was impressed with the way they covered a lot of ground in one movie, and thought that as a stand-alone movie, it was entertaining.
Some significant problems with two creative choices they made:
1) Roland admitting that he is no longer a gunslinger, had no interest in the tower, and was simply out for revenge. It's difficult to imagine anything more anathema to the character of Roland, which really is the core of the entire series. Too big a departure for me to overlook. It completely changes the way you see his character. I understand, from a marketing standpoint, why that might make the movie more popular, but I felt it was a slap in the face to anybody who read the series. One of Roland's most central traits was his refusal to give up, his staunch romantacism in the face of overwhelming odds. To make him a beaten down anti-hero completely sells out his character.
2) Jake having "the shine." Again, a pretty significant departure from the series. I suppose they can argue that the ability to communicate with the ka-tet was a close cousin of the shine, but when you see the movie, you will see that there is really no way to reconcile the two. This is another obvious sell-out move to shift the focus away from Roland and towards Jake.
I suspect the movie will not do well. It's just another vanilla action movie. The hard-core fans will not support it. The producers and financiers will reap the consequences of the choices they made with a failure of a movie, and we will not see any more in this series.
Some significant problems with two creative choices they made:
1) Roland admitting that he is no longer a gunslinger, had no interest in the tower, and was simply out for revenge. It's difficult to imagine anything more anathema to the character of Roland, which really is the core of the entire series. Too big a departure for me to overlook. It completely changes the way you see his character. I understand, from a marketing standpoint, why that might make the movie more popular, but I felt it was a slap in the face to anybody who read the series. One of Roland's most central traits was his refusal to give up, his staunch romantacism in the face of overwhelming odds. To make him a beaten down anti-hero completely sells out his character.
2) Jake having "the shine." Again, a pretty significant departure from the series. I suppose they can argue that the ability to communicate with the ka-tet was a close cousin of the shine, but when you see the movie, you will see that there is really no way to reconcile the two. This is another obvious sell-out move to shift the focus away from Roland and towards Jake.
I suspect the movie will not do well. It's just another vanilla action movie. The hard-core fans will not support it. The producers and financiers will reap the consequences of the choices they made with a failure of a movie, and we will not see any more in this series.
Just wanted to hop in again real quick to point something out.
There's a bunch of complaints about Idris from people either speaking directly or indirectly about his race.
To you complaining, I say this: Had this been a full-fledged, as close to source as possible film (Or at least a LOT closer) with more of the world building and getting to know Roland than was received, I am more than sure you'd all be singing a different tune.
He's a wonderful actor, and since this Roland is so alien (In terms of personality, etc. I am specifically NOT speaking about race.) you never really got to see him learn the role as he would have otherwise.
There's a bunch of complaints about Idris from people either speaking directly or indirectly about his race.
To you complaining, I say this: Had this been a full-fledged, as close to source as possible film (Or at least a LOT closer) with more of the world building and getting to know Roland than was received, I am more than sure you'd all be singing a different tune.
He's a wonderful actor, and since this Roland is so alien (In terms of personality, etc. I am specifically NOT speaking about race.) you never really got to see him learn the role as he would have otherwise.
The theme for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly started playing in my head while I was reading y'alls posts. Is The Dark Tower anything like a spaghetti western?
Robert Gray
Well-Known Member
If you are saying that we would be more forgiving had the writing been better, i.e. truer to the spirit of the books, I can get behind that. Nobody is questioning whether or not Idris is a good actor. He is an excellent actor. That doesn't make him right for the part. His casting, however, is neither here nor there. I knew for the moment they announced his casting that it was going to be a troubling ride for me. Why? Because it seemed to me that if they were going to make that kind of a casting change which would have massive implications for some of the characters... then nothing was off the table. It said to me that changing Roland's ethnicity is probably going to be the most unimportant change they would make. Does that make sense? It was a sign to me that they were going to write their own story, take the names of the characters and the title, and deliver us a standard Hollywood White Hat versus Black Hat for the fate of the world.
There were other hints. Did you notice that none of the movie posters had Stephen King's name in big bold letters? It wasn't Stephen King's Dark Tower. He is one of the most popular writers in the world right now. You would think the studio would want to cash in on that seeing how it wouldn't increase their advertising budget. So why didn't they do that? The pushed back release date... all the way to the end of the season turkey time wasn't a good sign either. No real advertising; it barely began before the movie. Heck, I saw trailers for It a LONG time ago and it isn't even out yet. What I have to wonder about is just how bad was the film prior to the change of release date?
I posted this also on FB, but wanted to share with my friends here, too...
So then...The Dark Tower, the movie.
Some spoilers, but...I don`t think it`s really possible to spoil it for anyone anyway.
First off, I went way outta my way to see it. We are so broke it`s not even funny, and well, sometimes 10 bucks is big, means a lot. And some of you know that I said I won`t watch this at the movies, but today is exactly 7 months since I quit drinking and I was like " Feck it, it isn`t every day you get to celebrate sobriety and there is also not a new SK movie in town very often, so...entertainment time."
I also had to walk 5 km to the movies since I didn`t have enough money for the bus, but hey, even more exercise than usual. And on my way there, I counted 9 beggars, which made me feel better. Not that they are poor, but they don`t get to go to the movies. Or so I think.
And it`s summer, man, and even though I`m married, I still get to look at the "menu", and the "menu" was great. Lots of very pretty girls out there today. I had my earbuds on, Metallica`s new album, so...if it was only for that walk, it was already worth it.
So, the movie: If you are looking for Stephen King`s The Dark Tower...errr...that`s not exactly what you gonna get. Bits and pieces, yes, the main theme, to protect the Tower is there, but almost everything else is not even close to the books.
But I wasn`t looking for that, I was looking to see a version of the Tower in some other turn of the Wheel, a version I don`t know too much about...and that`s what I got.
I think the acting was pretty good, I like Idris and Matt anyway and they were pretty solid. I don`t know why Matt made me laugh the first 40 minutes of the movie, he was really having fun being Walter and it showed. The kid was awesome.
And Jake`s mom was good and also hot.
His stepdad was a d!ck and ended up how d!cks usually end up. Or should, anyway.
Special effects were great, the scenery was great, especially when Jake first got to Mid-World, that really looked out of this world.
There is not much really to tell, it was pretty short, Walter is after Roland and vice versa and it takes Jake to remind Roland that the Tower matters, not his revenge. Walter was of course also after Jake...but did he get him? I`m not telling, go and see for yourself.
All in all - folks, I`m good and satisfied. For months and months I thought it`s gonna be an unwatchable piece of sh!t...and it`s not, FAR from it. The ratings on the IMDB are pretty much correct, a solid 6 out of 10 is what the movie is.
If you wanna have fun, watch a solid and unusual action movie...yup, this is the one. If you wanna sit and look for every little thing that is different from the books and fuss about it...yep, you are gonna get that, too, and be pretty grumpy.
In the end, it`s entertainment, it`s Hollywood, it`s a solid movie and I hope you gonna look like me in these pics...before and after the movie.
Long Days and Pleasant Nights, Gunners, if you gonna watch the movie with your brain, you have forgotten the face of Hollywood, so instead watch it with your heart, with the kid that stil lives there...and the Tower will keep standing.
So then...The Dark Tower, the movie.
Some spoilers, but...I don`t think it`s really possible to spoil it for anyone anyway.
First off, I went way outta my way to see it. We are so broke it`s not even funny, and well, sometimes 10 bucks is big, means a lot. And some of you know that I said I won`t watch this at the movies, but today is exactly 7 months since I quit drinking and I was like " Feck it, it isn`t every day you get to celebrate sobriety and there is also not a new SK movie in town very often, so...entertainment time."
I also had to walk 5 km to the movies since I didn`t have enough money for the bus, but hey, even more exercise than usual. And on my way there, I counted 9 beggars, which made me feel better. Not that they are poor, but they don`t get to go to the movies. Or so I think.
And it`s summer, man, and even though I`m married, I still get to look at the "menu", and the "menu" was great. Lots of very pretty girls out there today. I had my earbuds on, Metallica`s new album, so...if it was only for that walk, it was already worth it.
So, the movie: If you are looking for Stephen King`s The Dark Tower...errr...that`s not exactly what you gonna get. Bits and pieces, yes, the main theme, to protect the Tower is there, but almost everything else is not even close to the books.
But I wasn`t looking for that, I was looking to see a version of the Tower in some other turn of the Wheel, a version I don`t know too much about...and that`s what I got.
I think the acting was pretty good, I like Idris and Matt anyway and they were pretty solid. I don`t know why Matt made me laugh the first 40 minutes of the movie, he was really having fun being Walter and it showed. The kid was awesome.
And Jake`s mom was good and also hot.
Special effects were great, the scenery was great, especially when Jake first got to Mid-World, that really looked out of this world.
There is not much really to tell, it was pretty short, Walter is after Roland and vice versa and it takes Jake to remind Roland that the Tower matters, not his revenge. Walter was of course also after Jake...but did he get him? I`m not telling, go and see for yourself.
All in all - folks, I`m good and satisfied. For months and months I thought it`s gonna be an unwatchable piece of sh!t...and it`s not, FAR from it. The ratings on the IMDB are pretty much correct, a solid 6 out of 10 is what the movie is.
If you wanna have fun, watch a solid and unusual action movie...yup, this is the one. If you wanna sit and look for every little thing that is different from the books and fuss about it...yep, you are gonna get that, too, and be pretty grumpy.
In the end, it`s entertainment, it`s Hollywood, it`s a solid movie and I hope you gonna look like me in these pics...before and after the movie.
Long Days and Pleasant Nights, Gunners, if you gonna watch the movie with your brain, you have forgotten the face of Hollywood, so instead watch it with your heart, with the kid that stil lives there...and the Tower will keep standing.
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lol i'm going to see it in a few hours i'll see what your talking about
I always found the characters that come into Rolands ka tet more intersting than Roland.
Heart officially broken
I truly tried to keep an open mind but they have turned our beloved story into a bad cartoon and a running joke to the critics, although I did see an uptick from 17% to 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. For comparison, Maximum Overdrive has a 17% rating.
I just couldn't convince myself that Idris Elba is Roland. Did he do a great acting job??? Yes. He a great actor. He is just not Roland. If they had presented this as a movie occurring in the DT universe with Elba as some other gunslinger it would have worked much better.
Anyway, I am hurt but moving on with my life and hoping I live long enough to see a proper translation on HBO or Netflix. Maybe by that time Scott Eastwood will have some wrinkles and some acting credentials under his belt.
Now I am focused on a movie that I am excited about....IT! Maybe we will get some nice DT references like the origin of the creature coming from todash space or a reference to the IT creature being related to Dandelo.
See you on the IT message board!
I forgot to add this to my final post on this board:
Attention Akiva Goldsman...I give you the same toast that Lady Oriza gave to Gray Dick in the Wolves of the Calla....enjoy
Being my favorite SK story, I have been looking forward to this movie. I wasn't fond of the casting originally, but I decided to give it a chance and go into it with a certain frame of mind. Not thinking that this would tell the story we loved in the books, but telling the story of Roland on another level of the tower. The next level of Roland trying to get it right. I explained this to my son who went with me. He never read the books so he doesn't really know the story other than the bits I have shared with him. So with that in mind, I really enjoyed this movie as did my son. We both are planning to go back and see it again. We both thought Idris Elba did a very good job of being the stoic, tough hero that Roland was meant to be, and the kid who played Jake did awesome.
As for the reviews, I rarely trust anything the reviewers say. Unless they really understand the story, they are not going to get it.
For the DT fans, get your mind right and go enjoy this movie. It never had a cheap feel to it as it was very well done. It tells quite a story in a very short period of time. It is hard to take such an epic journey and explain everything in a sliver of time but it introduced my son to the world of Roland and I'm encouraging him to delve deeper by reading The Gunslinger. He really liked it and I can tell by how he is reciting many of the lines from the movie.
Go enjoy Tet-Mates!
As for the reviews, I rarely trust anything the reviewers say. Unless they really understand the story, they are not going to get it.
For the DT fans, get your mind right and go enjoy this movie. It never had a cheap feel to it as it was very well done. It tells quite a story in a very short period of time. It is hard to take such an epic journey and explain everything in a sliver of time but it introduced my son to the world of Roland and I'm encouraging him to delve deeper by reading The Gunslinger. He really liked it and I can tell by how he is reciting many of the lines from the movie.
Go enjoy Tet-Mates!
Posting this here too:
I'd like to see reviews by people who have NOT read the books and aren't stephen king fans. Of course purists are going to gnash their teeth and clutch their pearls. So they will trash the movie just so they can say, "I told you so" and feel all superior. And who are the people flooding the review market right now. Dark Tower fans.
I totally understand the disappoint some feel that the book wasn't followed word for word. This is a beloved series of books. But this wailing and lamenting doesn't change the fact that the world just got turned on to the Dark Tower and we will have a whole new group of people taking the journey by picking up the source material. That's a great thing!
I'd like to see reviews by people who have NOT read the books and aren't stephen king fans. Of course purists are going to gnash their teeth and clutch their pearls. So they will trash the movie just so they can say, "I told you so" and feel all superior. And who are the people flooding the review market right now. Dark Tower fans.
I totally understand the disappoint some feel that the book wasn't followed word for word. This is a beloved series of books. But this wailing and lamenting doesn't change the fact that the world just got turned on to the Dark Tower and we will have a whole new group of people taking the journey by picking up the source material. That's a great thing!
My husband is going with me today (! He never goes to movies, and it was his suggestion!). He hasn't read the books, but he has heard some things about the story from me and the kids--not enough, I don't think, to say he knows the story. I'll let you know what he thinks when we get home
I forgot to even mention Matthew. He did good. I wasn't wildly frightened by him though. I would have liked to have felt the same intensity of fear that I felt towards Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator. In fact, Joaquin would have done great in the role of the Man in Black. But, Matthew did a serviceable job.
fresh from seeing this, i'll try to order my thoughts in a coherent way. is it a faithful adaptation? not particularly, but they didn't ever claim it to be either. is it a bad movie? not at all. it may raise questions for some people, but it's not hard to follow unless you're not paying attention (a problem many people in the world have, but that's another discussion). in a world that gives us things like the transformers franchise, most of which are heaping piles of garbage, i find that 18% rotten tomatoes score to be absolute BS.
****spoilers follow, so read past this at your own risk.*****
does it have hollywood's stamp on it? yes, it does. i did indeed fell like i was watching a regular hollywood summer action film at times. still didn't make it a bad movie. and hopefully, it's a good enough movie to snag some more fans to check out the books for the first time.
there were some silly things. roland using a propane tank as a bomb by throwing it and shooting at it was pure hollywood action hero, and not a very bright moment for the scriptwriters considering roland wouldn't have any reason to know what a propane tank does, and would be unlikely to pick up on it in the heat of battle. roland's motivations were changed. i'm sure someone along the line decided vengeance was a more understandable motivation than just straight obsession with the tower, as far as the masses are concerned. i don't happen to agree with them, but they didn't ask me. the convenience of the portal network and the villagers having any understanding of it was a bit much.
the nods to other works were nice. the acting was good. the effects were good. it was maybe a bit less faithful than i feel they were capable of pulling off, had they tried harder. but considering some of the adaptations we get which both don't follow the source material and are also steaming piles of crap, getting one that doesn't follow the source material that closely but is a decent movie is at least half a victory.
bonus: seeing It trailer on the big screen
****spoilers follow, so read past this at your own risk.*****
does it have hollywood's stamp on it? yes, it does. i did indeed fell like i was watching a regular hollywood summer action film at times. still didn't make it a bad movie. and hopefully, it's a good enough movie to snag some more fans to check out the books for the first time.
there were some silly things. roland using a propane tank as a bomb by throwing it and shooting at it was pure hollywood action hero, and not a very bright moment for the scriptwriters considering roland wouldn't have any reason to know what a propane tank does, and would be unlikely to pick up on it in the heat of battle. roland's motivations were changed. i'm sure someone along the line decided vengeance was a more understandable motivation than just straight obsession with the tower, as far as the masses are concerned. i don't happen to agree with them, but they didn't ask me. the convenience of the portal network and the villagers having any understanding of it was a bit much.
the nods to other works were nice. the acting was good. the effects were good. it was maybe a bit less faithful than i feel they were capable of pulling off, had they tried harder. but considering some of the adaptations we get which both don't follow the source material and are also steaming piles of crap, getting one that doesn't follow the source material that closely but is a decent movie is at least half a victory.
bonus: seeing It trailer on the big screen