Posted this in the review thread, but thought it belongs here as well:
Despite awful reviews, I've been waiting too long for this movie to not see it.
Did not hate it. I understand why the book-nerds are up in arms: given the temporal limitations, the movie gave short-shrift to too many important people/places/events. It could not (and certainly was not intended to) be a visual representation of the entire epic story.
That said, there is a lot to like about this movie. Elba did a pretty great job at capturing the flawed/conflicted Roland. MM wasn't the perfect villain (and lacked Walter's manic gaiety) but he was a menacing presence hidden by a smile and restrained himself enough to avoid the echoes of Wooderson he brings to many of his roles.
The gunslinging is standard rampage movie fare with a touch of Deadshot. I was worried they'd get a little too superhero/cartoonish with the fight scenes, but just as it was about to go too far the director reined the acrobatics back in. The "winning" gunshot is a little dab of brilliance with Roland exploiting Walter's arrogance.
If you went into this one hoping or expecting to see sweeping panoramas and to experience the long days and nights on foot that were the hallmarks of the series, then you've set yourself up for disappointment. The nature of the walking quest spanning 7 books is that it imbues the story with a pace to match the physical progress of the characters. This movie is rushed from the beginning as the director tried to get the broad, sweeping narrative to fit into 95 minutes. For that matter, I don't know why they didn't Pete Jackson it and double the run time to give the story more room to breathe.
The look/style of the movie was also a bit of a betrayal of the source material. While not a "western" by any stretch, the books feature a man that, in my mind's eye, is more cowboy than time/multiverse traveling merc. The book's scenes, unless a particular backdrop is required (eg - Lud), trend to a "western" aesthetic with a dystopian varnish when I envision them. The movie is more sci-fi styled than I would have chosen and there is a heavy focus on the events in NYC. These are jarring when compared to the relatively pastoral pictures in my head.
I think, though, it is a fine effort and lays the foundation for additional movies (I don't think Walter died from a few bullet wounds, no matter how tricky the shot that did him in) and the rumored television series that will serve to fill in backstory and develop characters beyond the limitations of the 90 minute features.
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