[J Harker]

The Dark Tower. Nikolaj Arcel. 2017.

A young boy in NYC dreams of another world where a sinister man in black is attempting to harness the psychic powers of abducted children to destroy the pivotal Dark Tower, a strange monolith that stands at the centre of time and space and protects the multiple dimensions from demons seeking to devour mankind. Roland Deschain is the last in a long line of mythical figures known as Gunslingers. Think knights of the round table with six shooters. The destinies of Jake and Roland collide in a battle to defeat the man in black and save the world, all worlds.
Nikolaj Arcels Dark Tower sees the long awaited adaptation of Stephen Kings eight novel epic series finally get to the screen, and its a bit of a conundrum. As an adaptation of the novels it plays fast and lose. Adding in a bit here, dropping a bit there. But then it is condensing eight novels some seriously thick buggers (this is King we're talking about) into a 95 minute scifi yarn. And do you know what?? It does a bloody good job of it. The fact that the film feels tight and cohesive and drops enough hints at the backstory and deep mythology is very impressive. The casting is excellent too. Some important characters from the books don't get a look in but the three primary ones, Roland, Jake and Walter aka The Man in Black are portrayed superbly by the always impressive Idris Elba as Roland and the superb Matthew McConaughey as the man in black. With relative newcomer Tom Taylor playing Jake Chambers perfectly.
The film feels more like a traditional sci fi than the novels with technology being largely a relic in the books and here still very relevant. The more fantastical elements of the books also seem to be played down slightly with everything being presented as more rational and explainable. The best parts of the film for me are seeing Elbas fish out of water Roland Deschain tackling modern Manhattan and its a pity this wasn't played on for longer. There are endless easter egss scattered throughout for King fans and ultimately i don't think the film will dissapoint hardcore fans too much. As an adaptation i thought it was rather well done all things considered and as a film in its own right i thought it was a blast.