The Dark Tower (4 Stars)

This film is supposed to be the beginning of a new franchise that will present interlocking stories from Stephen King's books in a combination of films and television series. It's an ambitious project that's intended to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I'm not a Stephen King fan. I've read about half a dozen of his books and enjoyed them, but not enough to want to read everything he's written. I haven't read "The Dark Tower", although after watching the film this evening I feel tempted to read it.

I'm aware of some criticism from Stephen King fans about the casting of Idris Elba in the lead role as the gunslinger Roland Deschain. As someone who doesn't know the books it's not an issue for me. All I can say is that Idris Elba is one of my favourite actors, and he puts on an excellent performance in the film.

To summarise the plot: Jake Chambers, an 11-year-old boy from New York, is considered to be mentally disturbed because he draws pictures of things and beings from another world, claiming that they really exist. It's understandable that his parents should question his sanity, but they're wrong. One day two of the beings from the other world come to his apartment to kidnap him. Jake meets Roland Deschain, the last remaining hero in the other world, and joins him in a fight against a mysterious man in black.

I found the film exciting and highly entertaining. 95 minutes wasn't enough for me, it could have lasted another hour. According to the critics the film is "incomprehensible to newbies and unfaithful to fans of Stephen King's books". I fall into the first category as a newbie, but I can state that the film wasn't incomprehensible at all. It's a solid foundation for the rest of the Dark Tower franchise.