The Dark Tower (Film) - In Spite Of The Negative Press, I Enjoyed This Film!

The Dark Tower

I have been hearing about film adaptations of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower book series for many years. Nothing ever seemed to come to fruition until now, and it isn’t even an adaptation, but rather a sequel of sorts. Anyway, since the release of this film that is based on the story and characters of the famed novels of Stephen King, I have heard nothing but bad. Currently with an 18% rating from Rotten Tomatoes and a 6/10 rating on IMDB, 78% of Google users are reported as liking this film.  I am one of the 78%.

In the center of the universe there is a giant tower that protects all of the realms of the universe from monsters. If the protection afforded by the tower were to ever fail, hideous monsters would enter the various worlds causing death and destruction on a huge scale. Walter O’Dim, an evil sorcerer also known as the Man in Black has made it his mission to bring down the tower and unleash the evil forces that await. Walter uses children that he connects to a weapon as a power source to shoot energy bolts at the tower to destroy it. Fortunately, Walter hasn’t found the single child that can bring the tower down, yet.

Roland Deschain has made it his life’s mission to avenge himself upon walter for the killing his father. Roland is the last of his kind, the Gunslingers, a highly trained knight-like band that were used as law enforcement in Mid-World. Unfortunately for Roland, his world has “moved on” and become a bleak and desolate place that is populated by people who exist through subsistence. If Roland can catch the Man in Black and kill him, he will not only get his revenge, but he will save the universe.

The catalyst that brings Walter and Roland together is a deeply disturbed young man named Jake Chambers. Jake is a middle school aged kid that has disturbing dreams and draws pictures of the images he sees in those dreams. Following an incident at school, Jake’s already concerned mother decides that Jake should attend a psychiatric “camp” that will help Jake cope better. When Jake recognizes that the people from the “camp” are actually the same as those in his dreams, he bolts and manages to get away. Jake tracks down an abandoned house from his visions that contains a high-tech transport device that can open portals to the other realms. Jake enters the portal and arrives in Mid-World.

Jake then happens upon Roland and they begin traveling together. Roland explains his purpose and what Walter is about and then takes him to a village to have his visions interpreted. It is discovered that Jake has strong psychic abilities that Walter can track. Walter then unleashes another attack against the tower that opens a small rift allowing one of the monsters to enter Mid-World. Roland kills it before it can kill Jake, but is wounded in the battle. Roland’s wounds are beyond the medical abilities of Mid-World’s healing methods. The people of the village have a portal machine and Jake uses it to transport Roland back to his world to get him medical treatment, and more ammunition. When Jake tries to contact his mother to let her know that he is okay, he discovers that she has been killed. Now he also has a stake in Rolands mission of revenge.

Walter detects the use of the portal and captures Jake and hooks him up to the machine to destroy the tower knowing that he is the one child that can. Roland sets about rescuing Jake by battling Walter’s minions, killing them all, and finally killing Walter with a trick shot.

In the aftermath, Roland tells Jake he has to return to Mid-World and since Jake has nothing left for him in his own world, he should accompany Roland as his companion. Jake accepts and they transport back to Mid-World together.

Now, if you are a fan of the books series, you may be among those who do not like this film. It is so different and off the beam of what was the books, you may not even recognize a lot of it outside of the names of the characters and the setting in the first parts of the film up until Jake and Roland transport out of the village. Outside of that, there isn’t a lot that a staunch fan of the Dark Tower series that is canon. This film takes a completely different direction.

As one might recall from the books, When Roland reached the tower and opened the door at the top of the tower, everything reset and went back to the beginning of The Gunslinger. The last line in the last book was the same as the first line in the first book, “The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.” I have read and heard in some of the social media that I follow that The Dark Tower is intended to be a sequel to the last book in Stephen King’s series of the same title. I am just guessing that when Roland opened the door and reset the story, it was thought that perhaps everything may not repeat as it did before, but rather allowed for a whole new story to be told. This film is a whole new story unlike anything that Stephen King wrote. I have always felt that while there have been many adaptations, with a very few exceptions, King’s books tend not to translate into visual media very well. Stephen King writes in such a way that the words he puts together makes pictures in the reader’s mind that are eminently more terrifying than anything that can be shown visually. As far as I am concerned, many times when the horrors in the writing are brought to the screen, they are laughable at best.

One of the things I liked about this film was the way the characters were portrayed. Matthew McConaughey makes Walter’s evil palpable. Walter has zero regard for life or the needs of others and is bent on bringing about the apocalypse. Anyone who tries to get in his way, he kills by simply telling to “stop breathing.” He does this to Steven Deschain, Roland’s father, as well as to Jake’s step-dad. But the way he does it is just so nonchalant and without feeling that it embodies evil. It was a great performance.

Idris Elba represents the good opposite Walter’s evil and does it with class, as one might expect. Roland is an expert at handling weapons, but he is lonely. The world has moved on and has left him behind to pursue the Man in Black across the world. Elba shows this in his expression so well. He looks tired and sick during most of the movie and one has to wonder if he actually has the strength to defeat Walter when and if he ever catches up to him. When Jake takes him to New York and has him treated, he revives and becomes stronger thanks to a bunch of pills he is given at the hospital. His strength and vitality return and he is part of some incredible scenes.

Jake is portrayed by Tom Taylor, a young British actor who is 16-17 years old and is more mature than what he is supposed to be, which is in the sixth or so grade. It is pretty obvious that he is older, but he turns in a convincing performance as a scared kid who is experiencing disturbing things beyond his control. He is confused and alone and latches onto the only pillar of hope for understanding, which is Roland.

Together the cast clicks even though they spend a lot of their screen time apart, one can see that there is going to be a huge conflict in the end, and one hopes that good triumphs over evil because the survival of the Earth, as well as the other realms, is forfeit if Roland fails. To this end, the action scenes are well put together and always moving, but not at too fast a pace. The pacing of the action scenes and camera angles affords the viewer an opportunity to be amazed at what Roland can do. The visual effects are amazing and add a lot to the story, especially in the final ten or so minutes that Roland battles Walter’s minions, and finally killing Roland.  If there were real gunslingers, one would see some amazing feats of marksmanship. But even as one can see that they are visual effects, they are done so well as to be believable.

Among other aspects that I appreciated in the film were the location shots filmed in South Africa. The locations they chose were accurate to what I would have pictured in the books with the wastelands and rocky terrain that was featured. I also thought the film’s score was well done and appropriate to what was happening on the screen. Some of the music was quite epic and heroic in scope which accompanied the action scenes very well.

If there was anything that would have me picking nits, it would have to be the closing scene of the film. Jake and Roland are back in New York having a hot dog (Roland assumes that the wiener is made of dog meat) and Roland tells Jake that he has nothing left there and should accompany him back to Mid-Earth. As that ended and they headed off camera, the scene felt more like the ending shot of a television show than a major motion picture. I was almost expecting to see something like “Join us next time for the adventures of Roland and Jake on The Dark Tower.” While keeping in mind that there is actually plans in the works for a television series and perhaps other motion pictures, perhaps it was appropriate, but I thought it was a little cheesy and made me kind of feel like we were watching the pilot episode for a television series.

All-in all, in spite of what the critics say, I thought The Dark Tower was a great film with some excellent direction, acting, and action scenes. The length (just over an hour and a half) was perfect for a diversion on a summer afternoon.

Well, there it is…

Qapla’!

Edited By Benjamin Arrowood

Under the Dome - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - A Rant on The CBS TV Series

Under the Dome – Season 1 - 2013

I am not sure when I learned about the making of the Stephen King novel, Under the Dome was going to be made into a television series, but I do remember being very excited to see it.  I was also very excited to learn that two podcasting friends, Wayne Henderson and Troy Heiritz, were planning to produce a podcast (Under The Dome Radio) to accompany the show.  Well, Under the Dome has just finished its first season and since it was touted to be a science fiction drama, I feel the need to discuss my take on what was good and what was not so good.

The Book:

I listened to the audiobook version of Under the Dome last year.  I really enjoyed it during my drives to school and back finding that I couldn’t wait to listen to it.  The story itself is a very long account of the people in the fictitious town of Chester’s Mill being trapped under a mysterious dome and how they coped with life following such a disaster that might cut a community off from the outside world.  At first, the community pulls together, but then begins to fall apart as resources become scarce.  As always, there are those who try to find ways to take advantage of the situation to grab power that they would normally not have.  Under the Dome by Stephen King was a brilliant character study that looked into the lives of several of the Mill’s residents as they either tried to help others or tried to help themselves in surviving a disaster.

The novel is not for the weak stomached or those that may be overly sensitive as King doesn’t hold back anything as far as the language used in the book, or the descriptions of the activities.  It is very graphic and carries a very dark tone.

One complaint that I have heard about the book concerns the ending.  Apparently the dome was erected by some child-like aliens that were playing around with what they considered a lower life form, much as a child would use a magnifying glass to concentrate the sun’s rays to burn insects.  To those who read the book and complained about the ending I would say that the story wasn’t about the alien children as much as it was a character study.  Only a very small part of the book at the very end was about what actually about how the dome came to be.  I would like to think that I actually got what Stephen King was communicating with his yarn.  If you decide to read or listen to the audiobook (which was and excellent performance by the reader), you should approach it from the point that the characters and not the how or why is the main point.

The Show:

Right from the very beginning, it was announced that the television production was only based on the novel, and would not be a simple visual retelling of the Under the Dome story.  After listening to it, this was obvious to me since the extremely graphic nature of the novel could not be played out word-for-word on broadcast television.  Many of the characters have the same names and personality traits as their Stephen King counterparts in the book, but there are some major differences in their stories as the show unfolds.  Many of the characters for the television series seem to have been cleaned up a bit and have had their characters made acceptable for the average viewer.  Big Jim Rennie, for instance has had his overtly hypocritical religious stripped from him for the most part.  Dale Barbara isn’t the pure heroic figure as presented in the book; he has a darker background story.  Junior Rennie is far less psychotically disturbed in the show than he was in the book.  These are just a few of the changes from the original story.  So, before the show aired, I had made up my mind to forget about the book and take the television show as a separate entity.

The Good:

Visual Effects: The visual effects used in the show are magnificent.  Right from the very beginning when the dome descends on the town, there are some sunning scenes of planes and truck crashing into the invisible barrier.  One of the most iconic scenes is when Barbie witnesses a cow being cut in half while the half inside the dome falls away to reveal the other half sticking to the outside.  Along with that are scenes of electrical discharges as people contact the dome, a storm inside the dome, and a scene as the military attempts to break the dome with a large cruise missile.

Characters: For the most part, the acting is well done, that is when the characters are well written.  For me, the best of the cast is Dean Norris as Big Jim Rennie.  He portrays the “big fish in the small pond” personage to a tee.  Here’s a guy who is totally out to better himself under the guise of caring for the community at large.  He is so well written and acted that even I watching the show have occasionally believed that he was working for the good of his community.  But nothing Big Jim does is for the betterment of anyone but himself, if others are made better off along the way, it’s okay.  But don’t try to get in his way because anyone who does either mysteriously turns up dead, or he finds a way to manipulate others into doing his dirty work for him.  For me, he is the most interesting element of the show.

Linda Esquivel portrayed by Natalie Martinez finds herself becoming the chief of police following the death of her mentor and friend.  She is a very strong female character who takes her job seriously and is obviously well trained and experienced.  With the exception of the last few episodes of the series, Linda is the only character who seems willing to stand up against Big Jim to keep law and order in the town.

Ollie Densmore appeared in five episodes of Under the Dome.  He is played brilliantly by Leon Rippy, an experienced character actor.  Ollie goes into a head-to-head conflict with Big Jim over the town’s resources.  As a farmer with a well, he sees an opportunity to snatch power away from Big Jim and run the town himself.  He believes that he has many friends in the community and recruits them to help guard his well, the only major source of water for the town for a time until Barbie destroys the well.  Ollie finds himself left out in the cold by his “friends” as one of the extras tell him “you think we were here for you?” and they head for the hills as Big Jim again gets the upper hand.

There were definitely other good things about the show, but the above were the items that really stood out for me.

The Bad:

Barbie: hero or villain?  I honestly cannot tell if Barbie is good or bad.  He is obviously ex-military and perhaps some former member of an elite combat group.  He seems to have a lot of knowledge of weapons and is very good in a fight.  He also seems to have some extensive knowledge of emergency medical procedures.  But let’s face it, he came on the scene as a collection man for some entity that wanted him to use brutal tactics.  In the very first episode, we see him burying the body of Peter Shumway, then we learn later that he killed Peter collecting a large gambling debt.  On the other hand, we see Barbie acting on numerous occasions as a “deputy” without a badge, helping to keep law and order in the town.  But that’s not all folks; more on Barbie later.

Science Fiction?  There is lots of fiction Under the Dome, but very little science.  If a show is going to be touted as a science fiction series, shouldn’t there at least be some science?  Even made up science would be a welcome addition.  As I recall, there were perhaps two instances when any real science was actually explored; first when Joe was using math to try to figure the actual size of the dome, and second when the mini dome projected the star field in the barn.  Even that second one was more of a metaphysical instance since it turned out that the dome was pointing the way for the “teen quartet” (my term for the mini dome club of Joe, Angie, Norrie, and Junior) to go to the dome and get another premonition.  In actuality, Under the dome seems more like a paranormal series than sci-fi, or perhaps even more so, a study in abnormal psychology.  Everyone seems to have some kind of baggage they are carrying around.

Linda Becomes Big Jim’s Nazi Cop: One of the worse turns in the show is how Linda, the Police Chief, stops being a strong female character who has taken it upon herself to uphold law and order during the crisis and becomes Big Jim’s lacky.  Rather than doing what a good cop would do and investigating to learn the facts, in the last few episodes she just begins to take Big Jim’s word for everything and follows his agenda of the character assassination of Barbie.  The plot hole here is that Linda has gotten to know Barbie as they worked together.  I suppose it didn’t help much when After Big Jim killed Maxine and her henchman, Barbie knocked Linda out and headed for…

Speaking of that, after Barbie cold-cocked Linda, where did he expect to go?  After all, isn’t the Dome relatively small?  

In a later episode, Big Jim dispatches Linda to track down the location of the mini dome and take it into custody.  When she finds it, she goes way out of character and begins demanding that the object be turned over to her.  I didn't even recognize Linda's character in that performance, and I was quite puzzled at her gestapo-like tactics.

Barbie and Bushie: Phil Bushie, the radio station DJ spends a lot of time exchanging knowing nods with Barbie in the early episodes of the show, almost like they know each other.  Well perhaps they share a common bond as ex-military, or at least it would seem that way, but like Linda, Phil is more than willing to accept that Barbie is a cold-blooded murderer and even offers to build the gallows that Big Jim intends to hang Barbie from.

The Ugly:

Barbie and Julia:  One of the most convoluted parts of Under the Dome is the relationship between Julia Shumway and Barbie.  In several instances, Julia seems to be pining away for her deceased husband, Peter, but as soon as Barbie comes on the scene, she invites him into her home.  Now Barbie didn’t know that Peter and Julia were married, not at least until he saw pictures of the two of them together, but then really, he killed Peter SHUMWAY and begins cohabitating with Julia SHUMWAY.  Did he go in to kill Peter without knowing what his name was?  Even after discovering that Julia was Peter’s widow, that he killed, Barbie has the conscious of a snake and begins cohabitating with Julia anyway?  Now I realize that this show is not about reality, but come on, I cannot imagine anything like this happening with someone who is supposed to be a hero!  This plot is Hamlet gone completely wrong.

And while I am thinking about that, I should like to point out that when Maxine threatened to expose Barbie to Julia as Peter’s killer, Barbie decides, nobly (?) to confess his crime to Julia.  In a very Swiss cheesed scene (with a plot hole big enough to fly a jet liner through), Julia listens patiently to Barbie’s confession and then tells him, more or less, it’s okay, just don’t lie any more.  Barbie’s punishment for offing Peter?  A night on the couch in the Shumway living room.   As my friend Hank Davis said on a call-in to Under the Dome Radio: “Where do you find a woman like that?”  Well, the answer to that, my good friend, is nowhere, except Under the Dome.

One of the biggest plot twists, or twisted plots, if you will, was that of the (thankfully) brief appearance of Maxine Seagrave.  Out of nowhere this character appears on the scene to spend two days trying to make Big Jim’s and Barbie’s life a living hell.  Apparently, she was the entity behind Barbie being a collector of gambling debts, as well as being the one who was bankrolling and distributing the drug that Big Jim was producing to “save” the town of Chester’s Mill.  She blows into town from wherever she was and opens a fight club in the concrete works and is taking loaves of bread and salt for admission; all in less than 24 hours.  She says that she is doing this so she can maintain the lifestyle that she has become accustomed to.  I can only imagine what that lifestyle must have been; not good I suspect.

Blame Barbie:  Julia Shumway is shot, Maxine’s mother is drowned, Dodie is killed and the radio station is burned, Maxine and her henchman are shot.  It’s all Barbie’s doing!  So Barbie is finally captured and the people of the town are assured that he will receive a fair trial, and then taken out to hang.  In the final scenes, Barbie has the noose around his neck, Big Jim is presiding and Junior has his hands on the lever, and a large crowd has gathered to watch the execution.  The trial was Big Jim telling them that Barbie is guilty and not one citizen of this little friendly town is going to stand up and protest a public execution.  Okay.

The ending of the season is probably the second ugliest thing about Under the Dome.  The butterfly hatches inside the mini-dome and begins flying around.  Everywhere the butterfly touches turns black.  At the same time, the large dome is also turning black.  Then the “teen quartet” lays hands on the dome, it shatters and the butterfly crowns Julia the much awaited “monarch.”  Julia was further informed by Norrie’s mother that the done was not to keep people in, but rather to protect them.  Huh?  Then Julia takes the egg that was under the mini dome and drops it into the lake.  The much talked about pink stars appear and Big Jim who is presiding over Barbie’s execution says that it is a sign that Barbie’s impending neck tie party has been blessed by the lord, which is accepted by the crowd.  Huh?  Then the dome turns white and the show is over.  Huh?  What?

I have heard this called a cliff hanger.  Understatement?  You bet!  There are so many unfinished stories and loose threads with this series that I cannot even remember it all.  It is hard to believe that Spielberg and King are involved with this.

But the ugliest thing of all is how CBS loaded the series with seemingly unending strings of commercial interruptions.  Most of those commercials were selling other shows that were either already on, or soon to come on CBS.  At times, there was less than seven minutes of Under the Dome followed by an ad nausium number of ads.

So we are going to get another 13 episodes of Under the Dome next summer.  We can only hope that someone at CBS will take some time to watch this sad, shark jumped series and perhaps listen to those of us who aren’t willing to just accept just the label Science Fiction getting slapped on something that went from being pretty good in the beginning to a mere paranormal soap opera complete with “cliff hangers” couched in huge plot holes.

Will I be watching the second season of Under the Dome.  Most definitely.  There is way too much to laugh and make fun of that I cannot pass it up.  Along with that is the Under the Dome Radio podcast, which is fun to listen to

If you watched Under the Dome and loved it, well more power too you.  If you are accepting it as sci-fi, you need to re-examine your definition of sci-fi.  Not only isn’t it very good sci-fi, it isn’t even very good television for the thinking viewer. 

While I started really liking the show, I watched it deteriorate over the weeks into something that was barely watchable.  I also realize that I am in the minority on my assessment and am quite okay with that.

If you are looking for a more positive twist to Under the Dome, I urge you to listen to Under the Dome Radio with Troy andWayne.  They have a podcast episode for every episode of the show along with great interviews with Kevin Sizemore, Dale Raoul, and John Elvis.

Well, there it is…

Q’aplaH!