A divisiveStephen Kingadaptation is getting a new streaming home. Best known as a horror writer,King began his workas a published author through 1974’sCarrie, which earned him massive acclaim. He has since gone on to publishThe Shining,Firestarter,Pet Sematary, and countless other legendary works. Throughout his career, he has released dozens of books and hundreds of short stories.
Unsurprisingly, having so much attention on King’s works brought Hollywood to his doorstep. The renowned author has seen numerous adaptations.Children of the Corn,Misery,It(2017), and Kubrick’sThe Shiningwere all inspired by his stories. While some of his movies have failed, King’s name generally serves as a boon for any project that bears it.There are, however, some works that have not seen success. One of them is now coming to a new streaming home.
The Dark Tower
Cast
Idris Elba, Tom Taylor, Claudia Kim, and Matthew McConaughey star in The Dark Tower, a Western Sci-Fi film directed by Nikolaj Arcel. Released in 2017, The Dark Tower follows a young boy with visions of an apocalyptic future in which a powerful man, dubbed The Man in Black, lays waste to the universe. The film is based on the Stephen King book series.
Seven years after its controversial release,The Dark Toweris coming to Netflix. Inspired by King’s books, the movie follows Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) as he leads a young boy (Tom Taylor) on a mission against the dark Walter Padick (Matthew McConaughey). It was meant to be the first in a series, but poor responses from critics led to its eventual rejection. Now, the movie will becoming to Netflix on December 1, where it will join several other Stephen King movies, includingGerald’s Game.
Did You Know: There have been over 50 movies based on Stephen King’s books and short stories.
For Fans Of…
The originalDark Towerseries featured eight books and several off-shoots.
Mike Flanagan is now developing his ownDark Toweradaptation, which should prove to be more faithful to the books. It will come on the tail of a movie that earned just 16% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and 44% on the audience-led Popcornmeter. The movie was panned for itslimited runtime of just 95 minutes, its endless exposition, and its awkward pacing. Yet, for all its criticism, it is still worth watching, even as Flanagan attempts to create a better depiction.
Elba and McConaughey both offer inspiring performances, and their dynamic is the movie’s saving grace. Anyone who enjoys either acting style should find the movie an entertaining adventure. It also serves as a glimpse intotheDark Towerworld. That could provide either a warm nostalgic reminder or an early bite into an expansive universe, depending on the viewer’s familiarity. It is not a perfect movie, but it is still thrilling enough to watch on Netflix when it is finally released and is short enough that it hardly takes up much time or space.
What ScreenRant has said aboutThe Dark Tower:
All in all, The Dark Tower isn’t the movie that fans of King’s novels have been waiting decades to see on the big screen. With a new story, condensed mythology, underdeveloped characters, and a fairly simplistic Hero’s Journey arc - save the Tower, save the world - The Dark Tower doesn’t actively improve upon the source material and fans of King’s universe will likely find it lacking. On its own, The Dark Tower is a decent action-fantasy adventure that makes for an enjoyable experience for casual moviegoers. However, the film never quite lives up to expectations set by its source material and long development process, failing to capture the magic of King’s novels despite the efforts of Arcel and the film’s screenwriters. -The Dark Tower Review
