The Dark Tower Reviews: 9 Early Reactions You Need To See
4. The Adaptation Lacks Ambition
"The Dark Tower doesn’t even really do us the courtesy of being laughably bad. That would take some level of ambition, which the movie studiously avoids at almost every turn. Instead, it simply exists, eager to be overlooked and forgotten. It’s a shame that this adaptation didn’t have the funding or the vision to be something remarkable because you can see glimmers of a more ambitious, exciting movie." - Collider
"It aims low and hits (sort of). It's a competent and watchable paranoid metaphysical video game that doesn't overstay its welcome, includes some luridly entertaining visual effects, and - it has to be said - summons an emotional impact of close to zero. Which in a film like this one isn't necessarily a disadvantage." - Variety
A number of reviewers have accused director Nicolaj Arcel of lacking ambition in his Dark Tower adaptation, and given that the only thing that's being universally praised about it is the special effects, they may have a point.
The Danish filmmaker and his creative team should have thought bigger, grander and endeavoured to bring us a sprawling epic.
Instead, we got a simplified, streamlined take on one of the greatest literary sagas of the modern era.
It doesn't sound like Arcel had the vision to bring Stephen King's opus to the big screen in the manner it deserved, or maybe Sony failed to back him with an adequate budget to do so.