Share your thoughts after viewing the movie **DEFINITE SPOILERS**

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Mar 12, 2010
6,538
29,004
Texas
I wonder what the reactions would have been , if from day one, the movie had been re-titled. The Dark Tower--Roland's Final Journey; or something like that. Not just DT.
I think expectations / desires were too high for something like the HP movies. Acceptance of something different is often difficult.

Re-titling the film would have worked for me. If The Dark Tower movie is based on the premise of SK's Dark Tower rather than SK's story, a little warning would have helped me accept it :)

I have nothing against fan fiction but I prefer movies that are based on books to be based on the author's vision, not some director's vision :(

I'll give the movie a chance. I watched every episode of UTD even after the storyline went to heck lol
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
The Dark Tower! All I'm going to say is that I think they did it justice in this incarnation. I was able to transport myself out of this world and into the world of the Gunslinger and Jake. It succeeded in making me forget my troubles (and I've got some whoppers right now!) and go along for the ride. Idris did a good job in his portrayal of Roland (I wouldn't want to mess with him!) and Tom Taylor is great as Jake. Things are mighty compressed in this version and there's not a lot of explanations going on as to what is happening or why but it just keeps pulling you along. I think someone who has never read a DT book will 'get it'. There's lots of little Easter eggs throughout the entire movie and I like how they kept the 'siguls' in there. Is it as rich as The Lord Of The Rings movies? No, but it's close. Go see it!
 

LankyMcAllister

New Member
Jul 28, 2017
1
10
32
I went to the 19:19 showing last night and these are just some of my random and unorganized thoughts on the film:

- Getting to see the taheen and Blue Heaven featured so early was a nice surprise.
- I enjoyed all the little nods and easter eggs for other King novels.
- I thought Idris Elba and Tom Taylor were great as Roland and Jake. To me their relationship was the high point of the movie. Roland's little moments of unintended humor made me laugh just like they did in the books.
- McConaughey was just okay as the Man in Black. He really wasn't given much to do in my opinion. His commands to people like "stop breathing" and "hate" just seemed kind of cheap to me. Although to his credit he did have that "creepy charisma" that I always pictured Flagg having.
- The Battle of Jericho Hill, if that's what it was intended to be, seemed seriously underdeveloped.
- Roland's speed reloading was really awesome and the action was serviceable as well.
- The ending seemed very rushed to me but it still left me interested in how they'll move forward if they decide to do so.

Overall I thought it was an okay movie. I tried not to expect too much from it because I knew it would be tough to translate the scope and complexity of the books into film. I definitely don't think it's as bad as the critics are making it out to be though. I think that a lot of people will have issues with it because they're not familiar with the series and the mythology, but hey, whose fault is that? All in all if you're a fan of the series, there are many details in the movie you will appreciate and that will have you mulling over what's next for the franchise.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
I went to the 19:19 showing last night and these are just some of my random and unorganized thoughts on the film:

- Getting to see the taheen and Blue Heaven featured so early was a nice surprise.
- I enjoyed all the little nods and easter eggs for other King novels.
- I thought Idris Elba and Tom Taylor were great as Roland and Jake. To me their relationship was the high point of the movie. Roland's little moments of unintended humor made me laugh just like they did in the books.
- McConaughey was just okay as the Man in Black. He really wasn't given much to do in my opinion. His commands to people like "stop breathing" and "hate" just seemed kind of cheap to me. Although to his credit he did have that "creepy charisma" that I always pictured Flagg having.
- The Battle of Jericho Hill, if that's what it was intended to be, seemed seriously underdeveloped.
- Roland's speed reloading was really awesome and the action was serviceable as well.
- The ending seemed very rushed to me but it still left me interested in how they'll move forward if they decide to do so.

Overall I thought it was an okay movie. I tried not to expect too much from it because I knew it would be tough to translate the scope and complexity of the books into film. I definitely don't think it's as bad as the critics are making it out to be though. I think that a lot of people will have issues with it because they're not familiar with the series and the mythology, but hey, whose fault is that? All in all if you're a fan of the series, there are many details in the movie you will appreciate and that will have you mulling over what's next for the franchise.
....s'up Lanky?.....
 

Matt Taylor

Member
Feb 18, 2016
9
64
52
Watching this movie was slightly akin to watching one of my own children get beaten mercilessly. I felt it failed on nearly every level and was an insult to the source material. A "continuation" or "next chapter" in the story? Horsesh*t. So Roland emerges from the final book oblivious to EVERYTHING but a desire to kill Walter and without a shred of enlightenment? THIS Walter is the guy who seduced Gabrielle and made a cuckold of Steven? Seriously? No, no, and no. This was a freaking superhero movie run scattershot with just enough DT Mythos to keep fans watching. Poorly lit in sequences, poor dialogue throughout "THE KEYSTONERS call it......XXXXXXXXXXX".....Mcconaughey saying "Roo-land" at first. It stunk. And while I'm a big believer in "to each his own" I can't help but feel to a certain degree that some folks are giving it the benefit of the doubt because they're blinded by their love of the series AND using "there are many levels to the tower and an endless number of possibilities" as a get out of jail free card to dismiss bad filmmaking.

There was ONE moment in the 95 minutes that I felt a tingle of awe: When I heard Roland's full name said aloud. Other than that, I experienced something very much like misery. That's my (admittedly biased and subjective) honest opinion.
 

HedlessChickn

Booger Eater Extraordinaire
Jun 14, 2015
554
2,027
KC
My Short Review:

Don't bother.

My slightly longer review:

Seriously. Don't bother.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I went in not reading any reviews. I didn't follow any of the news on this other than knowing Idris was Roland and McConaughey was The Man in Black.

Everything, from top to bottom, was wrong.

I really wanted to see how Idris would handle the role. It was the most inspired choice imaginable for Roland.

What a terrible waste of his talents.

Oh, well.

Enjoy the money you received for the rights, Mr. King. It's likely the only good thing you'll get in regards to it.

As for myself, I'll be sure to purge this turd from my memory if/when I read TDT again.
 

Mia Deschain

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2009
178
686
Missouri
I was fortunate enough to see it last night 8/3. I admit I was a bit disappointed that it was so far off from the books, but I kept an open enough mind that I did enjoy the movie. And what made it more enjoyable is my love went with me and he is not a reader and did not know anything of the dark tower. He enjoyed the movie immensely and when he started asking questions, I found myself again falling into mid-world as I explained the book/movie differences and the story itself. As for Idris Elba portraying Roland, I too was concerned how he would change the character, but I am very happy with the results. He did an excellent job of portraying Roland's emotional pain and determination, as well as the battle that rages within him.
 

Ka-Mai

Member
Jun 6, 2012
5
22
I watched the movie last night. As a fan it gave me a lot that I was hoping for but not enough. To me the movie, trying not to confuse the viewers with too much information, lacked substance. Sure the setting of the movie and the immediate conflict is planted clearly, but I think there was a much needed weight over these characters and the overall story that was missing. I'm really hoping it makes enough to keep the ball rolling to do the series and the sequel but I think our hope for an awaken to a Stephen Universe lies with IT. This is me crossing my fingers.
 

S.R. Wittmann

Active Member
Feb 22, 2017
34
156
63
Florida, USA
I just returned home from the theater where I caught the first day showing of The Dark Tower. I have purposefully avoided reading any national reviews so as to not skew my point of view. As this thread states, SPOILER ALERT…if you haven’t seen the movie yet, then skip over what I am about to say.

For the record, I enjoyed the movie. It was a good 90 minutes of entertainment with excellent performances by the lead characters. I especially liked Tom Taylor’s portrayal of Jake Chambers as Taylor personified the character as I see Jake in my own mind.

Matthew McConaughey also delivered an excellent performance. I especially liked the way he portrayed the evil side of Walter or The Man in Black. On more than one occasion, McConaughey’s character kills with a wave of his hand and appears completely indifferent to the taking of life. This was an excellent characterization of Walter’s evil.

Idris Elba gave an excellent performance, but I felt he struggled a bit trying to find the Roland character. Now, maybe this is just me and the way I see Roland in my mind, but I felt the essence of Roland was a little on-again and off-again in Elba’s performance. There was one issue that hung at the fringes of my mind throughout the movie was Roland’s hat. Now I know there is narrative from the DT series that shows Roland without a hat, but if memory serves, I read something SK once wrote about the inspiration for Roland. I can’t remember this many years later exactly what SK said, but I do remember the image he painted in my mind. It was an image very much like Clint Eastwood’s nameless stranger in High Plains Drifter. (One of my favorites, BTW) With that association in my mind, I cannot see Roland without a hat and when I do, I’m left with the feeling that something is missing.

The special effects were excellent. I especially liked the opening scenes where Jake finds Roland. The landscape in those scenes is what I’ve always imagined the Wastelands in Mid-World looked like. As far as the rest of the special effects go, I wish promotional marketing wouldn’t take the very best scenes and release them in trailers, because by the time you’re watching the movie in a theater, you already know the best scenes. I found myself predicting, “Oh, here’s the scene where Roland shoots without looking, “…and here’s the funny scene where Jake tells Roland he’ll like Earth because of all the guns there.” It was like letting the air out of the balloon with nothing else to replace it.

Concerning the story line, I am a fan of the “second” ending to the DT. I think SK’s choice to create a temporal loop was the only way the DT saga could end…by not ending it. I know some fans didn’t like that, but SK gave you a choice to take the happy ending and go home. But, noooo…you had to keep on reading. Back to the point, what the writers did with the DT is something like what they did with Star Trek and rebooting it onto a new timeline. Did I like that? As a hardcore ST fan, I didn’t like it. But it works beautifully with the DT! We all know Roland loops and we also know that events within each loop change. This makes the story line used in the movie totally plausible as it may have happened in one of Roland’s temporal loops.

As I said in the first paragraph, I enjoyed the movie and I’ll have to see it several more times to pick out the fine details. So, no matter what the critics end up saying, go see it for yourself and make up your own mind. But when you go, put away your preconceived ideas, the meanderings of critics, and just sit back and be entertained.
 
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Hill lover35

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2017
3,717
20,019
42
Alberta canada
I've just read three reviews (The Verge, Rolling Stone and Variety) and the ones that are the harshest come across to me as ones that wanted to see a more faithful adaptation rather than the continuation of Steve's story. The reviewer for Variety got it that it's a continuation and is a more favorable review than the other two.

Ok so not shure I am understanding how it's a continuation of the story? I have not read the books so does this mean I will be lost? Hope not.
 

Hill lover35

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2017
3,717
20,019
42
Alberta canada
Yup. I think the TV route would be the best for a real adaptation of the DT series.


They are also planning a tv show, the way I see it as the movies are going to be the man story's, and the tv show is going to be the back story wiht his KA-tet that being said I had only read the little sisters of eluira
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
I watched the movie last night. As a fan it gave me a lot that I was hoping for but not enough. To me the movie, trying not to confuse the viewers with too much information, lacked substance. Sure the setting of the movie and the immediate conflict is planted clearly, but I think there was a much needed weight over these characters and the overall story that was missing. I'm really hoping it makes enough to keep the ball rolling to do the series and the sequel but I think our hope for an awaken to a Stephen Universe lies with IT. This is me crossing my fingers.
...HI!....