Has anyone read The Dark Tower and seen the movie adaptation?

[Kerrie]

I am on book IV Wizard and Glass. Anyone else read these? I am interested in seeing The Dark Tower movie. It's one of the few science fiction series that has got my interest.

 

[gleem]

Read the series but I'm not too sure about the film. Films based on books so often disappoint. I did not like the TV version of "Under the Dome".. My wife does not like McConaughey so I may not see it in the theater.

 

[phinds]

Read the series but I'm not too sure about the film. Films based on books so often disappoint. I did not like the TV version of "Under the Dome".. My wife does not like McConaughey so I may not see it in the theater.

The film got one of the worst reviews I've ever seen on Rotten Tomatoes. Even Idris Elba can't save it from being awful.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Boss Lady's orders, we see the movie tonight. (Idris makes her purrrrrr.)

 

[Kerrie]

The film got one of the worst reviews I've ever seen on Rotten Tomatoes. Even Idris Elba can't save it from being awful.

I have read that too which is disappointing.

 

[phinds]

I have read that too which is disappointing.

Yeah, the trailer made it look like exactly the kind of semi-mindless action adventure that I enjoy but I've never found anything with anywhere near that low a rating that I've liked. I've watched a movie or two that had a 50 or so and they were, as advertised, not very good (at best). At 20, I can't imagine this one will be any good.

 

[StatGuy2000]

Movies based on Stephen King novels have not had the best track record in terms of film adaptations, so I'm not entirely surprised that The Dark Tower film have received such negative reviews.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Okay, first off, I've not read the books. Boss Lady has. She said they did a fair job of telling the story, that the book was vastly more complex and that word-for-word wouldn't have worked in a single movie. I thought it was a fun movie.

 

[Rubidium_71]

Rendering the entire series of books into a single movie is an impossible task. The film is bound to disappoint a lot of people who liked the books because of the changes they've made. I haven't seen the film yet, but I intend to look at it the same way I looked at the TV series Hannibal (which also had a lot of similar changes from the original movie and book) - it's an alternate universe version of the story. I don't know if that viewpoint will make the movie more enjoyable for me or not, but I'm still going to give it a chance.
In my opinion, the only way they could do real justice to the DT books would be a series on Netflix or HBO.

 

[Heisenburgundy Gold]

I read the first two books and loved them. I was so sure I was going to dig the rest of the series I bought all the remaining books; started part three and hated it. It was boring and too long. When I talked to someone else who read the series she told me part four was even slower. After that I gave up on it completely.

I thought the movie was average. Nothing about the actual story seemed clichéd and generic. Though I will say Matthew Mcconaughey was brilliant as The Man In Black/Walter. That was the only thing I liked from the film.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Movies based on Stephen King novels have not had the best track record in terms of film adaptations

I can think of plenty of counter-examples: Carrie, The Shawshank Redemption, Misery, Stand by Me, The Shining...

 

[StatGuy2000]

I can think of plenty of counter-examples: Carrie, The Shawshank Redemption, Misery, Stand by Me, The Shining...

Personally, I think Carrie (I'm assuming you're referring to the original Brian De Palma film staring Sissy Spacek, not the recent remake) was overrated as a film. And both The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me are atypical Stephen King stories/books (and thus the films would be so different -- I assume Stand by Me is autobiographical), so I would place those films on a different category.

I will concur that The Shining was a superb film, but then again, can you expect no less from the likes of Stanley Kubrick, one of the greatest film directors of all time, who brought us such brilliant work like Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, or A Clockwork Orange?

 

[DS2C]

Ive read The Gunslinger and liked it.
In regards to book vs movie- I consider them entirely different entities unrelated to each other.
I think people spend too much time comparing them. Most really good books have small peices of information scattered throughout the story which together provide significant context. From a movie standpoint, it would be ridiculous to find ways to add in all these little intricacies. A producer could not possibly add in all these necessary bits into the movie as it would either make no sense, ruin the flow, or require multiple movies.
Also, the movie will hardly compare to the book because in a book we use our imaginations on how things are supposed to look or be, and when we see the movie they contradict the images and ideas we've already come up with.
If people were to drop what they know about the book, and take in the movie with a blank slate, I think they'd find it more enjoyable.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Personally, I think Carrie (I'm assuming you're referring to the original Brian De Palma film staring Sissy Spacek, not the recent remake) was overrated as a film.

I was talking about the De Palma film - the remake must have come and gone while I blinked - which got two Oscar nominations. If this is failure, give me some of that!