The Dark Tower

Stephen Kings' The Dark Tower set of fantasy novels is on the way to the big screen on August 18th. Fans of the series should be warned that The Dark Tower is based on the Books rather than the beginning of a set of film, and lets hope it remains a stand alone considering its final scene.

The film starts in New York City where an 11 year old boy, Jake Chambers, is coming to terms with the death of his father. Jake is haunted by nightmares of another world, he has become sullen in school and acts out after a bully pulls his portfolio of drawings from him.

His mother, Laurie, worries that her son is experiencing some type of psychosis. She and Jake's step-father ask Jake to move to a home for children that the school has recommended. Jake agrees but his stories and drawings of the Dark Tower and people with fake skin continue.

Two custodians from the home arrive at the apartment. Jake soon sees that they are people with the fake skin, of which he has being dreaming. He quickly escapes. Having researched a house that he has drawn, he quickly makes his way to mid-world.

Many of King's supernatural themes are explored in the film, the most obvious one being the Shinning which Jake and other children that the Man in Black kidnaps have. Jake's is considerably strong, which makes the man in black hunt him down.

Jake enters the Mid-World which is another dimension of many dimensions. Here the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) is forced to take on his foe the Gunslinger

(Idras Elba). The Gunslinger is forced to protect Jake and to save the Dark Tower.

The movie isn't that strong, but it isn't off putting. Both McConaughey and Elba are clear leading men in a movie that at times tries to be a coming of age movie for Jake played by newcomer Tom Taylor. The coming of age never really arrives and the movie hampered by its aim to be a summer blockbuster. The relationship between Ilba and Taylor lacks feeling, though it falls short of becoming The Gunslinger in New York or The Never Ending Story.

Fans of King may be disappointed that the producers didn't rely entirely on Kings original novels rather than a semi-sequel to his novels.

The Dark Tower start nationwide on the 18th of August.