This movie is fit for a King
THE DARK TOWER: FILMING BEGAN IN SOUTH AFRICA IN APRIL 2016
With the fate of the world at stake, good and evil collide in the final battle as Roland Deschain is the only one who can defend the tower from the man in black.
While the movie is based on a series of books by American author Stephen King, the focal point is Roland Deschain, the last living gunslinger, and his quest for the Dark Tower.
It is based on eight dark fantasy Western books, the first being The Gunslinger, published in 1982, and the last, The Wind Through the Keyhole, published in 2012.
Although I have never read any of King’s books and cannot remark on how accurate this film version is, I can assure you that the scenes which take place in both modern-day New York City and in Mid-World are conveyed in a seamless manner that ensures viewers are not left confused.
Jake Chamber is a fatherless 11-year-old teenager who struggles with strange and disturbing visions about a mysterious man in black who is out to destroy the tower using his supernatural evil powers to bring darkness to the world.
Deschain is the gunslinger who opposes the man in black.
With Jake’s family dismissing his visions as trauma from the loss of his dad, they call a group of psychiatric workers from an unproven facility to rehabilitate him.
He runs away from home as soon as he recognises that the people are monsters wearing human disguises, the same as those in his dreams.
After escaping from his captors, Jake somehow gets sucked into a portal that brings him right into the similar world he sees in his dreams.
He meets up with the gunslinger, who conveys the story about the man in black.
Walter, a monster who had been abducting children with “the shine” (psychic powers), attempts to destroy the dark tower that keeps the world secure.
Jake has “the shine” and Walter wants to abduct him. Throughout the movie, Deschain tries to prevent that and simultaneously save the dark tower.
Apart for the astonishing cast – with Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers, Idris Elba as Roland Deschain and Matthew McConaughey as the man in black (Walter) – the movie also has a thought-provoking storyline that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.
There are incredibly played out action scenes as Elba passionately brings the gunslinger to life in a unique manner that only he can manage, making sure that viewers remain glued to the screen.
Elba’s amusing comments about the contemporary world manages to instil a little comical colour to the film.
The cast also consists of a few famous South African actors (parts were shot in Mzansi) who manage to say a few lines in the film, adding a dash of local flavour to it.
Among them are Robert Whitehead, Leeanda Reddy, Mary Twala and Lemogang Tsipa.
The Dark Tower will be released in South Africa today.