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Thread: The Dark Tower movie adaptation

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by onthewall2983 View Post
    Some reports are coming out that the runtime is 85 minutes

    Dear God I hope not. Can we even hope for an R rating at this point?

  2. #32
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  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by allegate View Post
    If I remember correctly this man also praised Under The Dome the TV series.

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    I fully expect to see my favorite book series turned into a subpar lackluster unimaginative hour and a half movie that doesn't do well and then kills the chances of a truly decent adaptation/continuation ever getting made for at least another decade and I hope to be wrong, but every announcement has made it only worse.

  5. #35
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    I cannot get excited for this movie at all.

  6. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by kleiner352 View Post
    I fully expect to see my favorite book series turned into a subpar lackluster unimaginative hour and a half movie that doesn't do well and then kills the chances of a truly decent adaptation/continuation ever getting made for at least another decade and I hope to be wrong, but every announcement has made it only worse.
    Agreed. What a shit show.

    "I know Roland was always illustrated as a white guy that resembled 70s Clint Eastwood, and that's how you have pictured him in your imagination all these years while reading the series, but Idris is great for this role, completely embodies Roland, and King loves him". (Ok sure, Idris is cool, still sounds great!)

    "There's no Eddie, Susannah or Oy, but they will be in the next movie, which will happen as long as this movie is successful enough to justify the studio making another movie". (Ughhh, those 3 are absolutely crucial to the series, sounds like a gamble, but okay.....)

    "You see, the movie is happening AFTER the events of book 7, so its ok for us to take full creative liberty and make it as loose an adaptation as we see fit. (Wait a fucking minute..)

    "Also, it's 95 minutes long and has a PG rating" That's the final nail in the coffin for me. Sorry, but there's no fucking way this series can be done justice with either of those limitations. I think DT fans have a right to be super critical here based on the amount of time we've put into reading these books.

    Last year I was so jacked to see this opening night, and now I'm thinking I'll probably wait for it to hit Redbox.

  7. #37
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    I was somewhat ok with it being different since they say it takes place after the last book, test the waters for interest or whatever before doing the whole thing. But I don't see how they can build that world and tell a good story in 95 minutes, and the PG rating is not a good sign.

  8. #38
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    I fucking told you so.

  9. #39
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    I'm still looking forward to it. Even if I don't like it overall, at least im getting SCENES of Roland saying shit that Roland says, and that's something I've been dreaming of for like 25 years.

    Also , hahaha @fillow . "I fucking told you so" cracks me up for some reason
    Last edited by elevenism; 07-20-2017 at 08:22 AM.

  10. #40
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    I haven't read the books so i'm going in blind, i'll see if it's at least a good movie.

  11. #41
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    I was really stoked when they announced that McConaughey was cast as Flagg but phew... besides his casting the trailers and pretty much everything else around this are really off putting. I kind of wish they would stick to the official comics as the 7 (or 8) books are almost impossible to do justice.

    I won't be seeing it in cinemas for sure, but probably rent it as soon as it's out.

    As a series that never really got the hype a la Harry Potter or Game of Thrones I wonder how many people really sat through every novel and if this is even a franchise in the first place that is worth (money and audience wise) to be made and have a huge budget. I'd wish so, but I doubt it.The chances of having all of it being made in a proper way are very slim and you would need a truly passionate director to follow this through.

  12. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by dlb View Post
    As a series that never really got the hype a la Harry Potter or Game of Thrones I wonder how many people really sat through every novel and if this is even a franchise in the first place that is worth (money and audience wise) to be made and have a huge budget. I'd wish so, but I doubt it.The chances of having all of it being made in a proper way are very slim and you would need a truly passionate director to follow this through.
    i'm not even expecting an adaptation here. i think it's going to be more of a "inspired by" affair.

  13. #43
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    People once said that The Lord of the Rings was not adaptable for the big screen either so...

    It takes place after book 7 (which means that we don't know how much things have changed in this new life) and it's also an introduction to the world of the Dark Tower for those who haven't read the books.

    And the two lead actors are rock solid.

    I say give it a chance.

  14. #44
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    I haven't read the books, but was interested when they announced this...BUT honestly the trailers have not done anything for me nor make me want to go see this movie in theaters.

    Plus PG really? You're telling me Passengers with Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence had a higher rating than The Dark Tower?

    I think this will underperform to be honest. It really should have been a TV series, not a film.

  15. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by marodi View Post
    People once said that The Lord of the Rings was not adaptable for the big screen either so...

    It takes place after book 7 (which means that we don't know how much things have changed in this new life) and it's also an introduction to the world of the Dark Tower for those who haven't read the books.

    And the two lead actors are rock solid.

    I say give it a chance.
    Lord of the Rings was at its basic level a single-genre linear story; The Dark Tower is a multi-genre metafiction clusterfuck of timelines, stories and characters.

    While making it a sequel opens the doors for some vivid creative liberty and bold new directions, what we've seen so far looks like a subpar snooze of a wannabe blockbuster.

    No cast in the world can save a movie if the script and directing is poor. One of the screenwriters helped make the narrative mess that was the classic Amazing Spider-Man 2.

    I wish I could relate to people who just want to be able to say they saw something somewhat resembling the story on a screen but for me I either want it done right or I don't want it at all.

  16. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by allegate View Post
    The next 6 / 7 movies are going to be full of meandering, self-contradictary padding, however.

  17. #47
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    Well, the Lord of the Rings seems a bit more coherent to me and therefore the trilogy played out well on screen. And the movies went to great lenghts in the first place to get it right. That doesn't seem to be the case here unfortunately. And you knew that the fanbase was there to at least make the money they aimed for. I doubt that the Dark Tower has such a huge fanbase but I might be underestimating this.

    I really would have wished for a neat and tight adaption of the gunslinger. Make it a nice 2 1/2h epic and be done with it. If it does well and the tone was set right, you know you can focus on the other books. I don't know why they never tried this or did I miss out on something?

    But yes, while I am not too hot for Idris Elba as Roland I still think he can pull him off quite nicely. That being said, no one except for Eastwood in his early days would have fit the role to be honest, so I am all in for giving Elba a chance. And like I said, McConaughey is a perfect casting choice in my opinion. The visuals so far look good and not cheap as well, but I really have a lot of worries for this and I am with @kleiner352 : no compromises.

  18. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by dlb View Post
    I really would have wished for a neat and tight adaption of the gunslinger. Make it a nice 2 1/2h epic and be done with it. If it does well and the tone was set right, you know you can focus on the other books. I don't know why they never tried this or did I miss out on something?
    There's hardly enough material in The Gunslinger for a 2.5h epic, unless you're willing to add half of W&G in it as flashback story.

  19. #49
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    hehe I'll gladly take 2 hours as well. While reading the comics I had the impression you could do it, but you might be right. But 90 minutes is really short for a movie these days up until to the point where I don't know when I saw one the last time...

  20. #50
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    It's weird that they used the defense of "this isn't a direct adaptation and we're changing a lot of things" to justify concerning changes and now they're using the "hey, the first book is short, too" as a defense for the run time, even though they've made it clear this isn't just page for page the first book.

  21. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by kleiner352 View Post
    It's weird that they used the defense of "this isn't a direct adaptation and we're changing a lot of things" to justify concerning changes and now they're using the "hey, the first book is short, too" as a defense for the run time, even though they've made it clear this isn't just page for page the first book.
    Now see here. you'll watch it and like it, goddamnit!

  22. #52
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    the lack of advertising hype is... troubling.

    However, the PG complaints are off... The Gunslinger could EASILY be rated PG, and probably should be. The later books, no, but the Dark Tower never really got too super-R rated. There were some "woah" moments, but not many, and nothing that couldn't wind up on the cutting room floor.

    To be honest, the soft rating for the Gunslinger "movie debut" is kind of encouraging, especially if you're familiar with the nature of the story. That's as daring as making IT hard-R. Both feel right in that way too.

    The first book of the Dark Tower is more philosophy than anything else... it's psychedelic, daydream world-building.

    You don't need to censor out practically anything from The Gunslinger to earn a PG rating. That's kind of awesome they went that route.
    Last edited by Jinsai; 07-27-2017 at 07:35 AM.

  23. #53
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    Well, yes, but it's not looking like it's following the story of the first book, is it? I would be delighted if it did, but I'm not getting this from the trailers at all.

  24. #54
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    Some reviews are in, they vary from bad to average. Looks like it's a stinker.

  25. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dream View Post
    Some reviews are in, they vary from bad to average. Looks like it's a stinker.
    What a non-surprise

  26. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jinsai View Post
    the lack of advertising hype is... troubling.

    However, the PG complaints are off... The Gunslinger could EASILY be rated PG, and probably should be. The later books, no, but the Dark Tower never really got too super-R rated. There were some "woah" moments, but not many, and nothing that couldn't wind up on the cutting room floor.

    To be honest, the soft rating for the Gunslinger "movie debut" is kind of encouraging, especially if you're familiar with the nature of the story. That's as daring as making IT hard-R. Both feel right in that way too.

    The first book of the Dark Tower is more philosophy than anything else... it's psychedelic, daydream world-building.

    You don't need to censor out practically anything from The Gunslinger to earn a PG rating. That's kind of awesome they went that route.

    If they included it in the movie, the story of Tull alone should warrant hard-R rating. Other than that, yeah the Gunslinger doesn't have a ton of "R" material that couldn't be written around, but what bothers me most about the PG rating is just...I bet they fucked this up by trying to give it too much mass, blockbuster appeal. Aside from the actual events of the books, which I think most definitely should be geared toward a more adult audience, the atmosphere and tone of the DT universe never felt to me like a place for kids, including The Gunslinger. But opinions are like assholes and everything. I'm going to catch it tomorrow at the theater, don't have high hopes though.

  27. #57
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    Metacritic average currently sitting at 39%... Oh bother...

    My enthusiasm has plummeted here, especially because the harsher reviews seem to be written by people who actually read and appreciated the books. I wasn't expecting this to be faithful, and I try not to put too much stock in the collective opinions of critics (remember how much they all seemed to despise Fear and Loathing?), but 39% for what should, at the very least, be a captivating adventure/fantasy film?

    It sounds like they've taken one of my favorite books and fucked it up horribly by ultimately missing the tone and point. Oh well, like King said, if you hate the adaptation, the book's still there on the shelf. It would have been nice to see this realized in a different way, but I always felt that this was one of the most impossible stories to adapt to the big screen. I would fantasize about the possibility of it being executed correctly in a long TV series or something, but even then, I thought they might pull off something that maintained the spirit.

    It's sounding like that's what they missed more than anything though; the spirit. I'm lowering expectations to NOTHING, and certainly won't be rushing out for a midnight screening tomorrow anymore.

    Just, please, pretty please, let IT be good. It doesn't have to be great, I don't expect it to be great... but let it be good.
    Last edited by Jinsai; 08-03-2017 at 12:57 AM.

  28. #58
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    19% on Rotten Tomatoes...
    Yikes, reviews are harsh. I'm not entirely surprised.

    Sucks cuz this could have been an amazing television series. A movie was just never going to do it justice. I'm afraid this will ruin any chance of this movie series going further.

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    Everyone I know has been giving this a bad review. I don't think I want to spend time on this one. There are a lot of misses in the hit and miss aspect of his movies and shows, lately.

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