The Dark Tower to be a movie trilogy and T.V. show (1 Viewer)

[kcirdor]

I don't care what the reviews say, I enjoyed the movie.

 

[Brock Meaux]

I thought the movie was okay. Not terrible, not special. But I don't know the Dark Tower story well enough to judge it against the books. The little background Wiki reading I did let me know that it glossed over a LOT of the world and concepts that are core to the story. There were enough recognizable words thrown around to know they're referencing other things to plant seeds for a franchise. But like I said, I didn't know enough to be offended by any changes or omissions to the source material.

I do know that there were a LOT of cooks in the kitchen when it came to getting the movie to the screen, and there was a lot of cutting and shifting and pressing to make a story out of something that was incredibly dense. In that regard, I'd consider it a success. It might be because I've been watching some truly bad movies lately (prepping for How Did This Get Made podcast listening), but the story at the very worst flowed from start to finish in a sensible manner, and they gave us enough on every character to know who was who and get a sense of their motivations.

Not knowing how it reflects on the books, I would've made the movie MUCH more Roland-centric. Idris Elba is one of the best actors working today, and he was good in this. I would've liked more of him. McConaughey had moments, but his dialogue was pretty hammy. The kid playing Jake was fine. Outside of those three, barely anyone else could count as a character because there's not enough screen time to go around. Jackie Earle Haley shows up in a couple scenes, as does Dennis Haysbert. Seriously, the movie was shockingly short, right around an hour and a half.

So, as someone who was unfamiliar with the source material, it was okay. I'd imagine a hardcore fan of the mythology would have a very different take. I think if they go forward with a sequel, it's going to need a new team of writers and a new director. But I could just as easily see Sony coming out of the weekend deciding to leave it where they did and starting over again several years down the road. Trying not to give anything away, but they ended the movie in a place where it could be a standalone, they just wouldn't flesh out the breadcrumbs and references they dropped; the story they started reached a conclusion of sorts within the movie. I just don't know that the movie they put out will inspire a desire for more of it among Joe Moviegoer like me that saw it this weekend.

 

[kcirdor]

Should I read the books before the movie comes out?


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Yes you should.. or else you will feel like the movie rushed to the end without fully understanding everything.

 

[kcirdor]

So, as someone who was unfamiliar with the source material, it was okay. I'd imagine a hardcore fan of the mythology would have a very different take. I think if they go forward with a sequel, it's going to need a new team of writers and a new director.

Supposedly, they are moving forward with a tv series. Which is pretty much needed if they are going to flesh out the mythology of the books. It helps a lot to have read the series before watching this movie since they didn't take the time to explain anything. This movie itself was basically the first book, "the gunslinger" with a different outcome.

It also helps if you realize before hand this is a sequel to the series and NOT a full retelling of the series.

 

[antipop]

i enjoyed the movie as a whole but i think it could have been better. It was probably too short. Elba was really good but Mconoghey was pretty campy.

it seemed close enough to the source material but i read the books years ago and i was probably drunk when i did

 

[Hawkeye Saint]

I never made it past The Waste Lands. Could someone sum up what happens in the next few in one sentence? I am trying to cut back on my reading.

Sure thing., The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.

 

[Hawkeye Saint]

Seriously, finish the waste lands. It picks up steam like a psychotic train. The next book, wizard and glass, deals with Roland's youth, right after he wins his guns. Really good stuff.

 

[cdogg]

Seriously, finish the waste lands. It picks up steam like a psychotic train. The next book, wizard and glass, deals with Roland's youth, right after he wins his guns. Really good stuff.

And then King puts himself in the story, and it lost me. (Yes, Stephen King is a character in The Dark Tower)

 

[antipop]

And then King puts himself in the story, and it lost me. (Yes, Stephen King is a character in The Dark Tower)

little bit of a spoiler, eh?

 

[cdogg]

little bit of a spoiler, eh?

The books are old, you've had time.

 

[antipop]

The books are old, you've had time.

you didn't spoil it for me, I already knew that....

there are people that expressed interest in reading the books...

it's like telling people that Tyler and Jack are the same person

 

[buzd]

it's like telling people that Tyler and Jack are the same person

Well that's just great.

 

[antipop]

Well that's just great.

not my fault you keep falling asleep before the movie ends

 

[cdogg]

you didn't spoil it for me, I already knew that....

there are people that expressed interest in reading the books...

it's like telling people that Tyler and Jack are the same person

That's funny, watching that movie right now.

 

[tenordas]

And then King puts himself in the story, and it lost me. (Yes, Stephen King is a character in The Dark Tower)

Take this with a grain of salt because I'm not a big fan of Stephen King in the first place. Other than The Shining, I've never read any other book he wrote that I truly found impressive, and I read a lot of them expecting him to live up to that one again. Some are okay and some are dreadfully bad. My biggest complaint is that I wish he would not write on a third grade vocabulary level.

As for The Dark Tower series, I had my reservations with the first book when he tried to throw Merlin into the story. However, it was Wizard and Glass with the incredibly hokey "old-time high speech" that ended the series for me. That book just too stupid to take, and I didn't read any more of the series.