The Dark Tower, a movie based on a novel by Stephen King, was released not too long ago. It offered an interesting blend of fantasy elements and the real world. I cannot say how accurately it followed the book, since I have not read it but I did enjoy the movie.

The movie takes place partly in present-day New York and partly in another world. The protagonist (Tom Taylor) is a young boy that has telepathic powers and dreams of things that happen in the other world. Our main villain, portrayed by fantastic Matthew McConaughey, is trying to destroy the dark tower.

In turn the tower is responsible for keeping evil creatures out of their world. We also see Idris Elba playing a reluctant hero, one that is locked in a fierce rivalry with McConaughey’s character.

There was not much that I did not like. Of course I cannot call it a perfect movie and I am sure that those that have read the books would find some issues with it. I suppose one thing that did bother me was Walter, the main villain played by McConaughey, catching bullets and throwing them back like it was nothing. It was just so ridiculous to watch, I could not take that whole scene seriously even though it was meant to be emotional and epic.

There were a few unexplained things that might leave viewers with some questions, for example the skin-changers. I do not quite understand what they were, only that they worked under Walter. Perhaps that is all we are meant to know, though.

However, on the plus side, Roland [Elba] does some pretty awesome tricks with his gun in the fighting scenes. Walter’s sorcery also looks impressive for the most part, the special effects were done well. I must also note that McConaughey looks sharp; his wardrobe stood out to me and I thought it looked quite classy.

I enjoyed the whole premise of the movie as well, the traveling between worlds and the partnership between a child from our world and someone from another. I actually liked the father-son relationship that developed between Jake (Taylor) and Roland.

Overall, the movie was pretty enjoyable and understandable for someone that had no prior knowledge of the story or background. I would recommend this movie to anyone. Perhaps it should be noted that there are a few “frightening” scenes but the movie itself is not scary. For those that like action, adventure and a bit of fantasy, this might be a movie for you.