The Dark Tower - Fantasy Novel for Stephen King Fans

I have been a fan of Stephen King's books for just over three decades now. I have learned that his books do not translate well into film. It is for this reason that I had low expectations for the movie following the books.Idris Elba as Roland Deschain was a spot-on choice for the movie that was made. I also think he would have done a bang-up job if the movie followed the books as well. Elba has the skills needed to make the role his own.Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black was also a good call. McConaughey has the right amount of swagger to pull off this type of bad guy.The rest of the cast did a good job as well. Unfortunately to make a movie that stayed true to the books it would take a genius dictator such as Ridley Scott or Denis Villeneuve to pull this off.I liked it. Husband doesn't.He read the Tower series, I didn't lolLet me start off by saying don't let this movie put you off from the book series. I spent the last 10 months (I'm a very slow reader) reading The Dark Tower series and without a doubt the books are the best books I have ever read.This movie barely relates to the incredible book series written by Stephen King. It is called The Dark Tower and doesn't even properly explain what The Dark Tower actually is. It has a completely and totally inaccurate depiction of the beams, the Dark Tower, Jake and Roland.Roland is the last Gunslinger, with one mission, to get to (and save) the Dark Tower in an EPIC 3,000 page book adventure. In this waste of creation movie he is a little crybaby quitter who doesn't even care about The Dark Tower.Roland is regularly and constantly described throughout the book series. He is faster than anything ever, he is tall, has cold blue eyes, he starts as a cold hearted weary man with one mission and along the way he learns to love and communicate and has a heart. In this movie he looks nothing at all like he is described, how he behaves couldn't be further from accurate, he doesn't even claim to be what he is- A Gunslinger! They casted him totally wrong, made him weak and soft.As a reader I loved Jake like he was my own son, and he was not at all the same character in the movie. I cried multiple times reading about Jake. I didn't care much for movie jake. They totally changed his family dynamic in the Keystone World for absolutely no reason- it served no purpose whatsoever to change it. The part where he steps through the door in the old abandoned house is completely wrong and the house monster is easily defeated in the movie. It was a HUGE moment in the book and they totally brushed it off, but I guess when you completely eliminate two of the main characters of the books (which played a huge part in bringing Jake to Mid-World) you have to blow off and epic and emotional part of the story.They keep mentioning "the shine" in the Dark Tower movie which isn't even a thing in this book series, it's from a totally different story altogether (Doctor Sleep), it is called "the touch" in the epic book adventure and Jake isn't that strong with it, especially not with that much quick ease.The Man in Black was a ridiculous fabrication of the movie writers imagination- he was not the Walter we know from the books. Though a powerful sorcerer in the books, he doesn't just walk around saying, "Stop breathing" and easily kill folks for no reason. He himself is a dynamic character in the book, in this movie there is no substance, no depth at all. I lost respect for Matthew McConaughey for playing this role. Absolute trash.How can you write off three incredibly loveable characters totally and completely? Susannah, Eddie and Oy are amazing characters who add so much heart to this tale and they aren't mentioned once.I guess when someone tries to take an adventure filled, action packed, gore filled written tale of over 3,000 pages and turn it into a 90 minute PG movie the viewer shouldn't expect anything more than extreme and total let down. I have hated a lot of movies. I have been disappointed in a lot of movies. But I think this might be the first time I ever regretted watching a movie. I even knew going in, it was going to be terrible since all movies based on Stephen King books typically are (with the exception of the two new It movies), but I was still wildly surprised by this amazing failure of a movie.Loved it. Read the bookI'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.I really liked this movie . And yes I have read the entire Dark Tower series and the movie is different from the books but so what IT IS STILL A GREAT M9VIE. Anyway - if you have read all the Dark Tower books then why wouldn't you want to see a different view of the Dark Tower on film ?? My opinion is - -If you have not seen this movie yet you will not be disappointed- it will hold your attention for sure. It is worth watching at least once - It has a good storyline and great actors and cool action scenes especially the final show down with gunslinger and man in black . Well for what it is worth that's my opinion- - GOD BLESS ??Great story, cast, and cinematography.Love the way this was futuristic and present dayBefore I start talking about the film I would like to say I have read the books and I think this is where I feel people are going wrong. There was no real way that this movie was going to fit such a long and complicated story into one film.Now that is said and out of the way, what a cracking movie. I always had the idea of Roland as a cross between King Arthur and Clint Eastwood, Idris Elba nailed it. Also Jake's and Walter's roles were played almost to perfection. The books ending left me a little let down, you'll need to read them to understand, but the film ended much more clearly leaving me nicely satisfied. Action all the way with great effects to boot. I normally watch movies at home around gaming but not this one it got my undivided attention.All in a great watch and well worth the outlay.The movie arrived by the due date and in good condition. I was really looking forward to seeing this movie and I had high hopes, perhaps too high! I loved Idris Elba in Luther and Pacific Rim etc, he is a powerful towerhouse of an actor. In this movie however, his performance, while adequte, seemed too understated for this particular role, however, I must admit that I have not read the book, so perhaps he was playing the role true to how the character was written, I do hope so. All in all, the best bits of the movie was shown in the many previews I had already seen. But still it is worth watching for the great action sequences, particularly at the end of the movie.For the £3.02 I paid for this blu-ray version of the film it was better than good value. I am not familiar with Steven King's original story so am unable to comment on how well the film compares to it but personally I was happy with the contents.Seemed a bit loosely based on the series by the Master Author Stephen King in some areas. Lot of obvious differences that can't quite be put here in black and white. Made me a bit reluctant to take it seriously at the start. Having said that, I did enjoy it enormously. The actors were, in my opinion, superb and fitted the story perfectly as it was cast. My only gripe in the end was, after getting into it, it seemed to be over to soon LoL.Brilliant price for this 4k movie, picture is fantastic and so is the sound, syfi gunslinger with dark under tones, at this price worth buying for the picture and sound alone