The Dark Tower (Film/TV adaptation)
- Thread starter Ⓐaron
- Start date
Clement Rage
Pro Adventurer
Was ambivalent. Remain ambivalent. It's a very hard series to adapt.
Idris Elba looks too young to be Roland, he needs to be a bit weathered. But it's not a dealbreaker.
Idris Elba looks too young to be Roland, he needs to be a bit weathered. But it's not a dealbreaker.
I've read the whole series, but it was years ago, can't really remember most of the particulars. It seems like they're taking the basic premise though, which can still be good, but isn't really The Dark Tower. I mean, hell, no Eddie and Susannah? How do you even make a Dark Tower series without them?
That's actually one of my biggest problems with this. The Dark Tower is not chock full of action. It wasn't written to be some 80's action flick. Even if I were able to allow myself to get onboard with the action elements, I fucking hate that they are doing the overstylized action shit with it such as
Roland catching bullets in his guns in midair.
Clement Rage
Pro Adventurer
Parallel narratives, maybe? It could work, maybe, playing up the 'there was a boy/wasn't a boy' thing, by having both Jake in New York and Jake in end world plots running at the same time. Then go back to the beach in the sequel and take it through the Waste Lands. Not like Stephen King readers can complain about jumping around in time. But I'm still in 'wait and see' mode.
Maybe they just couldn't figure out how else to reload two revolvers at once while standing up.
Maybe they just couldn't figure out how else to reload two revolvers at once while standing up.
- AKA
- Ite
Well, the gunslingers are kind of talked up as being the most badass guys around. Catching bullets with a flick of the wrist kind of sounds like Roland to me. The Dark Tower books aren't ALL action, no, but they're also huge texts. I remember plenty of lengthy action sequences in each book, particularly in 5, 6, and 7.
I don't remember anything too lengthy. Action beats, yes, but not in the way the trailer's portraying it as.
About the air reloading, I don't think that's out of the realm of possibility for a gunslinger, but it may just be one of those things that doesn't translate well to live action. I have difficulty buying it when it happens in animation.
About the air reloading, I don't think that's out of the realm of possibility for a gunslinger, but it may just be one of those things that doesn't translate well to live action. I have difficulty buying it when it happens in animation.
- AKA
- TresDias
I've had to think about it for a few days, but I'm more with Ite on this.
The gunslingers are supposed to be BAMFs, and -- even if King didn't always deliver on this -- he built up a great atmosphere of epic conflict. Heck, the final line of the first book was "The gunslinger waited for the time of the drawing and dreamed his long dreams of the Dark Tower, to which he would some day come at dusk and approach, winding his horn, to do some unimaginable final battle."
Given that this film is supposed to be as much a sequel to the books as an adaptation, I have no problem with this long-awaited promise finally being fulfilled.
The gunslingers are supposed to be BAMFs, and -- even if King didn't always deliver on this -- he built up a great atmosphere of epic conflict. Heck, the final line of the first book was "The gunslinger waited for the time of the drawing and dreamed his long dreams of the Dark Tower, to which he would some day come at dusk and approach, winding his horn, to do some unimaginable final battle."
Given that this film is supposed to be as much a sequel to the books as an adaptation, I have no problem with this long-awaited promise finally being fulfilled.
- AKA
- X
It is a sequel to the books: http://io9.gizmodo.com/yes-the-dark-tower-movie-is-a-sequel-to-the-books-1796235912
X
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- AKA
- TresDias
Odd that io9 is just catching wind of that. It was confirmed a year ago.
- AKA
- TresDias
Looks like the movie is only going to be 95 minutes. I can't help but feel this is probably a good thing.
Saw it. I'm kindof wondering why they even bothered to make it. It's a very simple story. A to B, B to C, C to D, end. They bring up grand concepts, but they're just dropped lines to try and give some sort of stakes/reasons.
Anyone who hasn't read the books, I can't imagine how they'll enjoy it beyond the acting, and the few jokes. For people who have, it's mostly just the joy of seeing references. It doesn't have much else.
Anyone who hasn't read the books, I can't imagine how they'll enjoy it beyond the acting, and the few jokes. For people who have, it's mostly just the joy of seeing references. It doesn't have much else.
Your review is basically the same as just about every other review I've read/seen/heard. It's just more confirmation that the film is disappointing. What a shame. There was so much potential and it seems to have been completely wasted. I'm going to skip the theatre on this. I'll wait for it to hit Netflix or something.
I reckon they thought they could build a franchise on the star power of Elba, McConaughey, and King, so they skimped on the scriptwriters. At least, that's what it sounds like to me.
- AKA
- TresDias
I saw it last night and was thoroughly pleased. I get why other people who have read it aren't happy, and why general audiences were confused, but I'm one reader of the books who enjoyed it.
Clement Rage
Pro Adventurer
I think the dark tower is nearly unadaptable, so I'm not really surprised or disappointed. There's only so much you can do with 2-3 hours.