The Dark Tower

 (12,844)
5.61 h 34 min2017X-RayHDRUHDPG-13
Roland & the Man in Black share an ancient vendetta, they must fight to the death in an epic battle over the fate of the Universe.
Directors
Nikolaj Arcel
Starring
Idris ElbaMatthew McConaugheyTom Taylor
Genres
Science FictionHorrorWesternFantasyAdventureAction
Subtitles
English [CC]
Audio languages
English
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Supporting actors
Claudia KimFran KranzAbbey LeeKatheryn WinnickJackie Earle HaleyMichael BarbieriEva KaminskyNicholas HamiltonJose Zuniga
Producers
Ron Howard
Studio
Columbia Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
Purchase rights
Stream instantly Details
Format
Prime Video (streaming online video)
Devices
Available to watch on supported devices

Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars

12844 global ratings

  1. 62% of reviews have 5 stars
  2. 18% of reviews have 4 stars
  3. 12% of reviews have 3 stars
  4. 4% of reviews have 2 stars
  5. 4% of reviews have 1 stars
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Top reviews from the United States

WilliamReviewed in the United States on September 11, 2017
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dark Tower Concentrate
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If you go into this movie expecting any type of serious adaption of the Dark Tower series previously written by King, you are bound to be very disappointed. I am going to go ahead and acknowledge that this film was incorrectly titled and marketed, so some of the criticism is deserved. If you've read the Dark Tower series a few times, then you are aware that the series is somewhat circular. That being the case, this film could have easily have been marketed as a sequel to the series - more like a second, third, fourth, or fifth telling of the Dark Tower saga. When viewed in this manner as a sequel and retelling of the saga of the gunslinger as he tries again and again, this film works very well. They could have started the movie with short scenes from the prior Dark Tower books and then moved into the chase where a new journey starts over. This has a definite King stamp to it, there are serious aspects of Kings Dark Tower series and his other accompanying - connected works throughout the movie (which is why I refer to it as Dark Tower Concentrate). It's a really interesting story that I wish would have gone on longer and have been fleshed out and developed more. I truly believe that if they would have marketed this as a sequel to the initial Dark Tower series, and called it something like "Dark Tower - The Second telling\ The Gunslinger's Doubt" then it would have been much better received by fans. Anyway, this is all hindsight and it was not marketed or done this way. I thought the acting, visuals, and storyline was great - but it is a sharp departure from the original Dark Towers series ...........which is still begging to be made.
430 people found this helpful
TimReviewed in the United States on October 21, 2017
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some references to the Stephen King writings... good movie if you didn't read the novels.
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If you are looking for any of the images that the Stephen King series branded in your mind, go get a hot cup of electroshock. Yes, it is Roland and Jake vs the evil one for the fate of the universe. The acting is great, the movie itself is good to watch as an action flick. It is based on the work of Stephen King if you haven't read the novels. If you have, and let him create these worlds in your mind, you may be in for a large wtf! I think that Stephan King at his best creates a fabric in time and space that just can't be replicated in film. The mind movies you create reading win every time... I'm going to read all eight novels of the trilogy over, just for the brain flicks.
58 people found this helpful
Daniel SpratlinReviewed in the United States on August 18, 2017
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Dark Tower quick movie review
What it’s about?

A dark tower exists that protects the universe from a demonic apocalypse. The tower can be destroyed by the mind of a child. The Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) is locked in an eternal struggle with the Last Gunslinger (Idris Elba), as one tries to bring the tower down and the other tries to defend it. One child is caught in the middle of it all.

What did I think?

I immediately wanted to watch more of The Dark Tower when the credits rolled. Not because it was a stellar movie, but because I felt like there was SO much we didn’t see. Moviemakers saw fit to compress EIGHT Stephen King books into one movie, leaving the intriguing premise feeling rushed and under-explained. This needs to be a TV show so I can binge the crap out of it rather than a movie that piqued my interest but left me dissatisfied.
219 people found this helpful
J. BondReviewed in the United States on November 9, 2017
4.0 out of 5 stars
Magical Guns (SPOILERS to the ending of the books)
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This Dark Tower film is not an adaptation of the books, and didn't try to be anything except a story in the Dark Tower universe. If you read the books, you know that they end in such a way that we are told that Roland gets to fight his battle over and over until he gets it right. Only then can the story end. This is another retelling -- King set it up this way, and while I thought it was stupid when I read the books, now I get that he wanted to be able to tell the same story with different results as many times as he felt like doing it. So, if you wanted a retelling of the books, you will be disappointed. Otherwise this is a perfectly good movie. I enjoyed the visuals, especially the 'magical' guns. A lot of fun.
23 people found this helpful
Critical MassReviewed in the United States on July 11, 2018
1.0 out of 5 stars
A TOWER TOO FAR
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Take an old episode of Gunsmoke, add a scene from Blazing Saddles, one from any Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western, a tower from Lord of the Rings:The Two Towers, one super psychic young teenage boy, a decrepit house in the midst of NYC, unlimited CGI effects, an evil near all-powerful Matthew McConaughey played by Matthew McConaughey, creatures made up to look like humans, phenomenal - literally out of this world - scientific equipment, paranormal and religious elements, bedraggled people living in sci-fi/medieval squalor with no kitchens or bathrooms, well shake them all together, and you have The Dark Tower - Apocalyptic Garbage. You cannot justify this movie in any way just because the books that it was based on were far better and more complete. This film must stand or fall on its own merits which are sorely lacking. A tower in the center of the universe indeed! Exactly where is that location? And how do you reach it and destroy it with the mind of a child?! Even the fecund mind of Stephen King has overstepped the bounds of credulity.
19 people found this helpful
Avid ReaderReviewed in the United States on December 18, 2017
3.0 out of 5 stars
A fun movie without depth, but it's not the Dark Tower
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Having said I will never watch it, because it didn't follow Stephen King's book series ...
I started watching it thinking to myself, "I'm not going to like this movie. I refuse to like this movie. I don't know why I rented it. I guess so I could give it a bad review."
Midway through the movie, "This is kind of fun." lol

It was an entertaining movie, but lacked any depth. It was not The Dark Tower as I read by Stephen King. I am sad that there was no Eddie, No Detta/Susannah; no Oy. There were none of the characters or scenes I enjoyed so much. The movie wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t the Dark Tower I loved to read.
23 people found this helpful
angel_xtremeReviewed in the United States on January 8, 2018
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Sci-fi
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If you're a fan of the books like me, you'll appreciate this movie as long as you understand it probably wasn't designed to be a 7-part series. You'll appreciate the references to the books. They did an ok job of making the books in to a movie, but I wonder what the movie would be like to someone who hasn't read the books; I feel like it wouldn't make a lot of sense. I was hoping they were going to go all the way and bring this elaborate world and story to fruition, but they still made a decent movie. Roland played really well, but I didn't care for the portrayel of the man in black. Something was off. Worth seeing, just lower the bar a bit.
16 people found this helpful
sixthreezyReviewed in the United States on February 9, 2019
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Dark Tower - A Whole New Tower
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I've only read a few books in The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, so I sort of knew what to expect but at the same time I wasn't exactly sure how they would handle the film. It's definitely made to be accessible by newcomers and fans of the book series alike. The movie definitely starts to play out like a typical misunderstood teenager movie but quickly turns its focus to the cover characters after a brief introduction.

Idris Elba is really the shining star of the film as I really feel he is the one that pulls you into the story and the characters. It's his involvement with every other character that gives them dimension and something to follow, at least I felt so for the movie. The books are not quite the same feel, but The Man in Black also plays a significant role in this telling. Matthew McConaughey plays a bad guy wonderfully, and you can tell by the special feature interviews that he really enjoyed getting into character for The Dark Tower.

Stephen King movies rarely disappoint and I think this one didn't perform too well at the box office. While I don't think it was the mind-bending fantasy tale some may have expected or wanted, it was a serviceable action flick with a twist of sci-fi/thriller. I really love the imagery for everything that came from the books and how it was interpreted here for the movie. Everyone involved seemed to have a grasp on what made the original series so entertaining and unique and brought their best for the film adaptation.

The 4K disc menu is kind of interesting as it looks kind of like a new age website that slide large photos to and from each page you can visit. There is also a page of Moments that are scenes from the film broken down by character and in one case a world that is visited in the film. I think it's kind of interesting but I'm not sure what the purpose is or if it's supplementary to something else. Otherwise, the disc doesn't have any special features but the Blu-ray copy does. There are a few features including a blooper reel, a few deleted scenes, and a few interviews with cast and crew.

Overall the film was really enjoyable if you're a fan of either of the actors involved, especially if you like Stephen King stories. The 4K was beautiful and in the Gunslinger action sequences of the movie it really stood out. Seeing Idris Elba load his guns in so many different ways was awesome, and the portals between worlds looked really cool as well. The Blu-ray disc is included with this purchase, as well as a digital copy. The digital copy does redeem in 4K.

Both the Blu-ray and digital copy were included with this release, and the case came in great condition with a slipcover.
5 people found this helpful
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