“The Dark Tower”, one of my most anticipated movies this year finally got it’s first trailer released this last few days. Before this, not many people talked about this movie, but obviously this has changed as we are finally shown how will the adaptation of one of Steven King’s greatest works will be portrayed on the big screen. Just by the trailer itself, i can easily tell that this is another movie that has escaped development hell with flying colors, or at least giving us a very good impression.
Now, have I ever read the books before? Not at all, but from what I’ve heard from books, the comics and the movie itself might be enough for me to pick it up eventually. The tale of the gunslinger hunting down the man in black while protecting the titled Dark Tower is seen as one of the best fantasy series written in modern times and I just can’t stop been excited seeing some of that on the big screen.
The trailer shows us pretty much a simpler version of what the dark tower is about. A tower that keeps the multiverse in balance (but just refer to mid-world and earth) as the last of the gunslingers, an order of knights who protect the tower must stop the man in black from destroying it, all this told through the eyes of Jake, the viewers gateway to the story.
Just by what we’ve seen, Idris Elva looks so cool as the gunslinger, you are sold that he’s a grim and badass cowboy and he was cast perfectly if they were going to change the nationality of the originally Caucasian character. Just wished that people would had been as accepting to scarlet johanson in ghost in the shell to be honest (it was a decent movie, didn’t deserve all the hate it got) but that’s another thing completely. I gotta say though, the different ways he reloaded his guns in the trailer are just freaking awesome, it fits the setting and the way the gunslingers are portrayed in the books (they are kinda like jedi cowboys) and his aiming skills are just rad. I’m happy with the casting and I can’t wait to see him more.
We also get glimpses of Matthew McCanaughey’s “The Man In Black”, a character that has been in other of King’s books and works as a messenger of the Crimson King, the main antagonist of the entire dark tower world. I actually do like him taking on a role like this. McCanaughey has always been someone i feel would be a great villain, so finally giving a role and one as big as this one, was a great idea.
Jake, the kid is actually not bad. He doesn’t seem annoying that’s a good thing in my book. Not much to say besides seeing that he will be trained by the gunslinger to become one himself eventually.
Since I’m not as knowledgeable as other people regarding Steven King’s works, i may had not noticed all the references to the other books. But it was cool to see a picture of the Overlook Hotel from the shining in one scene and a reference to Pennywise the clown from IT (who is also getting it’s own movie this year). For those who do not know, The Dark Tower series actually makes most of the author’s works into one unique and awesome multiverse that the tower itself connects to. I don’t expect the IT movie referencing this one or the other way around, been from different studios but this is very nice to see still.
(though this is as much as we will most likely get, it’s a nice eater eggs)
If there is one concern about this movie is just one. The trailer looks very summer blockbuster but and a lot of fans won’t be happy that this movie seems to take parts of different books in the series (the whole appearance of jake been from book 3). But to be honest, making a series like this to a movie is not easy, this is a fantasy western that isn’t like anything before seen on the theaters. Not only in terms of storytelling but in how this massive world is. King created such a unique universe that combines so many elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror that only a TV series on a place like HBO could probably tell the entire story accurately.
Overall, I’m very excited for this movie and this trailer really help me cement the idea that we might get something great and hoping for a franchise to come out of it. I really want to see the rest of what the Dark Tower can really bring us.
The Fifth World 