Film Preview: Black Mass (2015)

Page Revisions:

(May 17, 2015) Original
(May 31, 2015) New Trailer (#2)
(August 16, 2015) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#2-#11) / Page Redesigned
(September 13, 2015) New Poster (#12) / Added Image Gallery

Release Date:

September 18, 2015

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.”

Poster Rating: C / C- / C / B- (8) / C-

Review: (#1) This isn’t even remotely original and will do exceedingly little to sell the film.

(#2 & #3) It seems like the poster designers for this film are at a loss for how to depict the film, highlight its star and still make it seem like a movie people want to see. So far, they aren’t having much success. There’s a slight touch more creativity to design #3, but not enough to make a measurable difference over the original design.

(#4-#11) While no one’s been able to create a concept for a single one-sheet that has the power to compel, the character posters are relatively unique in the poster landscape and highlighting each star’s name without moving all the names around is a great touch. I could use less of the overbearing redness of them, but these are still pretty engaging.

(#12) An imperfect, bland design that sells Johnny Depp, but nothing else.

Trailer Rating: B / C+ / B-

Review: (#1) This tense trailer sets this up as one of Johnny Depp’s most capable and chilling performances in years. It also positions this as a more accessible, more recent crime drama which could appeal to audiences who aren’t really into Depression Era efforts.

(#2) While the first trailer is really listed as a “first look,” this is the real deal and it does set up a rather jarring exploration of a violent criminal’s life, but the film looks decidedly less vicious, which doesn’t make it seem more appealing, all things considered.

(#3) It might not be as excitement-inducing as the first video released, but damned if it doesn’t look like it has a lot of potential. While it’s not perfectly evocative of the 1970’s crime dramas, it has enough elements to make it appealing to fans of the genre. Johnny Depp fans might not be so impressed, however.

Oscar Prospects:

Johnny Depp is in the hunt for another Oscar nomination and unless the film is absolute garbage, he should get it. If the film’s exceptionally good, it could earn several nods including one for Best Picture.