The Dark Tower: Fun For Casual and DieHard King Fans

[divider type=”space_thin”] Full disclosure, I haven’t read the series. Ask me about It, I got you. Questions about The Stand? Read it at least twice. Gerald’s Game? Check. I can keep going, but you get the point. So I’m well read when it comes to Stephen King, but not this particular series. I am not a diehard fan with encyclopedic knowledge of the Gunslinger, Roland, or the Man in Black, Walter. That said, this is a fun movie worth seeing in the theaters. No Spoilers Here! If you’re wondering how they condensed eight novels into a 90ish minute film, the answer is they didn’t. The movie, starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, draws plot points from several—but not all—of the novels and is set after the conclusion of the series. Characters that are not in the novels have been added and others have expanded roles. If you’re a purist, this may not be the movie for you.

Adapting a well-loved book into a movie is always perilous. But when that book is actually an eight-book series that the author himself has called his magnus opus, well… let’s just say things are complicated. That likely is why The Dark Tower, out in theaters today, has been in some form of production for almost ten years with several directors and production companies involved with the project throughout. Ultimately, the project found its footing in a partnership between Sony Pictures Entertainment and MRC. Nicolaj Arcel, co-writer of the screenplay for the 2009 novel adaption The Girl With the Dragon Tat…