Finally saw it.

If you go in not expecting a direct adaptation, but the story of a part of a different turn of the wheel, then it's a fun fast paced film.

You can see the horn of Eld poking out of Roland's bag all the way through too, lending weight to the idea this is a continuation.

There are easter eggs a-plenty for book fans and it is extremely lore friendly - many references to and events / beats from the original books throughout. The leads are super too.

I've loved the novels (both prose and graphic) and had a great time, mt freinds who had never read the books loved it too.

@Joe79 said: If you go in not expecting a direct adaptation, but the story of a part of a different turn of the wheel, then it's a fun fast paced film.

You can see the horn of Eld poking out of Roland's bag all the way through too, lending weight to the idea this is a continuation.

There are easter eggs a-plenty for book fans and it is extremely lore friendly - many references to and events / beats from the original books throughout. The leads are super too.

I've loved the novels (both prose and graphic) and had a great time, mt freinds who had never read the books loved it too.

Well, that is one way to look at it, but at some points I felt the easter eggs were turning into insults. As if the creators were saying: "Look, we know that this world and this story is more complex, and we also know exactly what we cut. And we cut it regardless of the importance of it, so we'll just put this thing here (like the Crimson King graffiti), for you to conceal the fact that this oversimplification of the story is how we go from now on."

95 minutes is not enough for a turn of the wheel. In any turn of the wheel, the main villain and the main focus is still the Crimson King. Not Flagg.

For this reason I cannot rate this movie more than a 4/10. It would be a passable movie, and it would be 3/10 were it not for Elba's and McConaughey's performance. But still - it's an insult to book readers to simplify and cram this skeleton story into 95 minutes, where significant changes are made to events that occurred in the past, no matter which turn of the wheel you look at. For example, reworking Roland's dad into this loving, Hollywood stereotype was just too much.

If the Easter eggs had not been there how would you have felt? Would you rather no mention of the Crimson king at all for example?

Sure they couldn't fit everything in - arguably its all important. But then it's a different story... I can't say I was upset or insulted by those nods either.

Strictly speaking CK is the big bad, true, but this isn't a whole turn of the wheel. Roland is nowhere near the tower. CK is still there. They just Wolves of the calla'd before they drew the 3. Can't see a problem with that - or the significance of changes this time around. The smallest difference can cause chaotically different outcomes - ie butterfly effect.

Easy 7 for me