The Dark Tower is more of a prologue than the first chapter in an epic saga.
Here’s why that’s not such a terrible thing.
ThisDark Towerarticles contains spoilers.
That in itself feels like a reason to celebrate.
TolkiensThe Lord of the Ringsbefore it, Kings fantasy/sci-fi/western/horror epic was once thought unfilmable by Hollywood.
The result of all that work and waiting?
An okay fantasy movie that many hardcore fans will find controversial and general audiences will probably enjoy.
The writer suggested that Stephen King fans andDark Towerfans arent necessarily in the same group.
You know, theyre an acquired taste.
One of my biggest issues with the movie is the villain.
Again, this much more digestible version of Walter better serves the general audience.
He doesnt really use telekinetic powers or stop bullets with his bare hands.
Instead, Walter stands out for the evil he is able to impress on others.
But despite the films many problems, theres something really refreshing aboutThe Dark Towers earnest approach.
It doesnt give a shot to build up more of the mythology than it can handle.
That feels a lot like the narrative ofThe Gunslingerto me.
*Art by Michael Whelan.
Roland is very singularly focused throughout the first book of the saga.
As the opening line states: The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.
Roland really is more interested in catching the man responsible for the fall of Gilead than saving the Tower.
Instead,The Dark Toweris all about the chase.
As King said on Twitter a few weeks ago, the movie is all killer and no filler.
Its disappointing that the execution is ultimately muddled.
John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek US.
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