Even the acting feels off despite a good performance from Idris Elba, McConaughey's evil Man in Black character has no direction and is on the verge of silly, rather than anything resembling something terrifying. Honestly, The Dark Tower is an extraordinarily challenging universe to adapt and I'm sure everyone tried their hardest, but this movie feels like a slap in the face to every fan and King himself. At 95 minutes, characters and set-pieces are given no time to breathe and connect with the audience. Much of this, I believe, comes from the rushed running time. The result feels lifeless and choppy and uninspired with no real sense of background or care for what comes next. The Gunslinger, the character we've been waiting years to see on screen, is put on the backburner. Where King's novels are dark, suspenseful, full of character development, and told from The Gunslinger's POV, this PG-13 adaptation focuses on Jake, who must learn the truth about the universe, how to handle a big gun, and face down pure evil in the span of 95-minutes. The two form a bond as they trek through portals and seek out to defeat the Man in Black and his minions. Luckily, Jake crosses paths with The Gunslinger (Idris Elba), who is part of a long lineage of warriors that keep the Dark Tower safe.

The Man in Black hopes to tear down the Tower by kidnapping kids, like Jake, who have the supernatural ability to 'shine' (ala Danny Torrance in The Shining). Turns out our universe is held together and protected by a large Dark Tower. This film version follows an eleven-year-old boy named Jake Chambers, who has premonitions and nightmares of a mysterious Man in Black (McConaughey), who is looking to take over the world and destroy it with a bunch of evil monsters that are disguised in human skin. Sure, the visuals look good, but The Dark Tower lacks ambition or any real sense of story or resemblance to King's eight-novel, genre-defying series. Yet, what follows is a heavy-handed 95-minute film that feels devoid of any real creative content.

Abrams and Ron Howard came and went, producer Akiva Goldsman teamed with director Nikolaj Arcel, who had most recently helmed A Royal Affair, to produce the movie for Sony. It's just sad to see the final result, which effectively proves how difficult this property is (has been) to develop.

Stephen King's magnum opus, The Dark Tower, was finally released on the big screen after years of fan anticipation.

The Dark Tower download the new version