5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Gunslinger Roland Deschain roams an Old West-like landscape in search of the dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world.
Starring: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor (L), Claudia Kim (III), Fran KranzAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 63% |
Fantasy | 48% |
Horror | 6% |
Western | 3% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Portuguese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
Turkish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish VO
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
There are certainly no shortage of movies out there that are based on books, and those movies based on books written by Stephen King tend to be better than most. Sure some of them has flopped or settled into a decidedly "mediocre" place in the cinema history books, but many of them, be they sourced from novels or short stories -- The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, Stand By Me, and It to name a few -- are legitimately great films, some even masterpieces, of the cinematic realm. But perhaps King's most revered realm hails within the bountiful pages of his Dark Tower series, a collection of books quite unlike anything one of the 20th century's (and 21st's, for that matter) most prolific writers had ever published before. Widely considered his magnum opus, the series, much like The Stand, would seem in need of significant breathing room for any screen adaptation to work, never mind do it justice. That's not what's happened with The Dark Tower, Director Nikolaj Arcel's film that capably condenses the story down to its bare essence and into a tidy 90-minute film at that. King purists will probably run and hide, but those looking for a fairly crafted film with some nifty ideas and good acting should find the film agreeable enough.
The digitally photographed The Dark Tower looms over Blu-ray with a quality 1080p transfer. The image features all key components in good working order. Textural efficiency and clarity are excellent, particularly in various urban exteriors in and within Jake's parents' apartment. Both environments reveal plenty of complex details, whether pavement, brick façades, or nicknacks such as Jake's drawings, with high-yield detail in every shot. Likewise, Roland's world offers dense foliage and more natural but gritty and run-down objects to explore. Facial textures are alive with intimate definition, particularly some of the more weathered faces seen on characters like Roland and The Man in Black. Colors are well saturated. Natural greens are sufficiently flush and punchy. Various colors around the city and, again, in Jake's apartment, are pleasantly rich and accurate. Black levels hold strongly deep and accurate while flesh tones appear healthy and natural. The image offers a sprinkling of light noise but no serious source or encode artifacts are present. This is a very strong Blu-ray presentation from Sony.
The Dark Tower, on Blu-ray, features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack while the companion UHD offers a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. While the Blu-ray should certainly have included the Atmos track, the 5.1 presentation easily carries the movie very well. Even as the track lacks the complete fullness of the Atmos listen, it still handles various big, room-filling elements very well, only lacking the final burst of more precise and enveloping spacial awareness. Bass is full-throated and intense, surrounds regularly engage in action, and various deep, penetrating sounds, particularly when children "attack" the tower, offer plenty of room-filling heft and directional accuracy. Indeed, there's no shortage of rattle, rock, and all kinds of various, intense elements that add a frightening and otherworldly edge to the proceedings. Atmospheric support is excellent, too, particularly in dense city environments and locations like diners, always drawing the listener into various places. Dialogue is clear and well defined, expertly prioritized, and smartly positioned in the front.
The Dark Tower contains a handful of extras. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.
The Dark Tower certainly could have been much more, and needed to be much more if it was going to somehow remain faithful to the novels that precede it. But even at a very fast 90 minutes that's more or less the story's most unadulterated, no-frills and few-details essence, it makes for a serviceable, and even often enjoyable, surface-level entertainer. Hopefully the series will again be one day revisited, perhaps for the small screen (and please be more faithful than Under the Dome. Thanks.), where it can truly breathe and explore. Until then, this is a solid enough facsimile that will please casuals more than King fanatics. Sony's Blu-ray offers strong video and audio presentations alongside a healthy little allotment of bonus content. Recommended.
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