Parents' Guide to

The Dark Tower

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Awful, violent, revenge-filled Stephen King adaptation.

Movie PG-13 2017 95 minutes
The Dark Tower Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 15 parent reviews

Hish
Hish Adult
September 22, 2020
age 16+

disturbing

I am only commenting because I was surprised that no one mentioned the fact that the villain tortures the child protagonist's mother to death while taunting her that she can't save her child now. And, because the child is psychic, he sees/experiences what happened to his mother after the fact. Theoretically overdone and stupid, yes, and the actual burning the mother to death bit isn't shown, but it was still really f-ed up to watch. I didn't like to watch it and I wouldn't want my kids watching it.

This title has:

Too much violence
1 person found this helpful.
Luminous
Luminous Parent
July 5, 2018
age 13+

Great Movie

I loved the movie quite a bit. Though it was quite violent. But the storyline is pretty interesting. I would watch again.
See all 15 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE DARK TOWER, Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) has vivid dreams about a man in black using kids to try to destroy the world -- and a gunslinger attempting to stop him. Following a clue, Jake discovers a secret portal and learns that these things are real. He meets the gunslinger, Roland (Idris Elba), and together they set out for the place that Jake saw in his dreams. He learns of the Dark Tower, which protects the universe from monsters, and how the man in black, aka Walter (Matthew McConaughey), hopes to destroy it and bring about Armageddon. Jake also learns that he has "the shine," a great power that Walter hopes to harness. Roland wants revenge against Walter, while Jake hopes to save the universe. Unfortunately, Roland is wounded by a monster attack, and Jake is captured. Will Walter's evil plan succeed, or can Jake's willpower and Roland's guns save the day?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (15):
Kids say (20):

Based on Stephen King's novels, this sludgy science fiction/fantasy dud reduces King's epic vision to a series of mindless clichés, surrounded by lazy dialogue and half-baked visual effects. Noisy, junky, and without any kind of mood or rhythm, The Dark Tower connects somewhat to King's Shining universe, but this is as far from Kubrick as a movie can get; it's closer to sci-fi/Western disaster Jonah Hex. Akiva Goldsman is one of the credited screenwriters, and his usual penchant for over-explaining everything is here. But he and his fellow writers still can't make sense of the truncated plot or find reasons for any of this stuff.

Director Nikolaj Arcel tries to cover up his shaky footage, sloppy editing, and cheap-looking monsters with plenty of darkness, but the ruse is all too obvious. Oscar-winner McConaughey is flat-out awful as the man in black, coming across more as smarmy and annoying than menacing or threatening. On the other hand, as Roland the gunslinger, Elba is the only cool thing in the movie. So it's a crying shame that he couldn't have been involved in something more imaginative (or even something totally different, like a new James Bond movie).

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Dark Tower's violence. Does it feel real? Is it thrilling or gruesome? How does the movie achieve this effect? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of scary movies?

  • Does the gunslinger's preoccupation with revenge make him less of a good guy? Why or why not? Do you consider any of the characters to be role models?

  • If you've read the books the film is based on, how does the movie compare? Which do you usually prefer: the book or the movie?

  • Teens: Have you ever felt like your parents don't listen to you? What have you done about it?

Movie Details

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