Stars: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Dennis Haysbert, Ben Gavin, Claudia Kim, Jackie Earle Haley, Fran Kranz, Abbey Lee, Katheryn Winnick, Nicholas Pauling, Michael Barbieri, José Zúñiga | Written by Akiva Goldsman, Jeff Pinkner, Anders Thomas Jensen, Nikolaj Arcel | Directed by Nikolaj Arcel
“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” As opening lines go, The Gunslinger’s should be up there with Pride and Prejudice’s universally acknowledged truth for sheer iconicism. We say should be, for Stephen King’s epic fantasy Western always was one of his most underappreciated, and less read.
Hence director Nikolaj Arcel and his screenwriters (plus committee, who had a big hand in this aberration) jettisoning that powerful, brilliant, stark opening in favour of modern-day New York and a teenage protagonist. For those unfamiliar with the books, The Dark Tower won’t be even nearly so offensive. Constant readers will...
“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” As opening lines go, The Gunslinger’s should be up there with Pride and Prejudice’s universally acknowledged truth for sheer iconicism. We say should be, for Stephen King’s epic fantasy Western always was one of his most underappreciated, and less read.
Hence director Nikolaj Arcel and his screenwriters (plus committee, who had a big hand in this aberration) jettisoning that powerful, brilliant, stark opening in favour of modern-day New York and a teenage protagonist. For those unfamiliar with the books, The Dark Tower won’t be even nearly so offensive. Constant readers will...
- 8/18/2017
- by Joel Harley
- Nerdly
From start to finish The Dark Tower, directed by Nikolaj Arcel from the popular book series by Stephen King, feels like something salvaged from something else. The result is a mostly entertaining piece of fantasy pulp that is a victim of trying to do too much and too little at the same time. For better or worse, this film is a testament to how hard telling a story can be, especially when a version of that story has been told over many books over many years and is beloved by many fans.
But let’s stick with what’s in the movie. There’s a kid named Jake (Tom Taylor) who’s having nightmares he’s convinced are real. Jake’s mother (Katheryn Winnick) and crappy stepfather (Nicholas Pauling) think he’s crazy, but of course he’s not. There’s a Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey, eating ham sandwiches...
But let’s stick with what’s in the movie. There’s a kid named Jake (Tom Taylor) who’s having nightmares he’s convinced are real. Jake’s mother (Katheryn Winnick) and crappy stepfather (Nicholas Pauling) think he’s crazy, but of course he’s not. There’s a Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey, eating ham sandwiches...
- 8/3/2017
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
No one would ever accuse Stephen King of lacking ambition — particularly when it comes to his self-professed magnum opus, “The Dark Tower,” an eight-book series that chronicles an epic battle where the fate of the entire universe (known and unknown) hangs in the balance as the powers of good and evil duke it out for ultimate supremacy. King’s vision is essentially a western sci-fi in which a sullen gunslinger battles through a fantastical land to reach the titular dark tower that holds together multiple universes on the verge of collapse. It’s a series that has everything, including a cameo by none other than King himself, who writes the stories as they’re playing out on the page.
That’s only part of the reason why the books have mostly been considered “unadaptable,” though plenty of filmmakers — from J.J. Abrams to Ron Howard — have tried. Now the movie’s finally been made,...
That’s only part of the reason why the books have mostly been considered “unadaptable,” though plenty of filmmakers — from J.J. Abrams to Ron Howard — have tried. Now the movie’s finally been made,...
- 8/3/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.