Film Preview: The Current War (2019)

Page Revisions:

(October 8, 2017) Original
(June 3, 2019) New Trailer (#2) / New Release Date (changed from 11/24/17)
(October 20, 2019) New Posters (#5-#7)

Release Date:

November 24, 2017

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The dramatic story of the cutthroat race between electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse to determine whose electrical system would power the modern world.”

Poster Rating: C+ / C / C / C- / C+ / C / C-

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Review: (#1) A poorly overlapped design that looks like the cover of a DVD case rather than a suitable film promotion. (#2) The lightbulb situated between the two warring individuals has a symbolic edge, but the design is otherwise uninteresting. (#3) Crudely stacked images that are weakly interesting. (#4) Although the bottom half of the poster is arresting, the overall design is clumsy and unappealing.

(#5) The subtle cityscape perched on the side of the electric current is the only element to this design that’s worthy of note. (#6) What the designer was thinking when they put this together surely didn’t include rational thought or ease of understanding for their concept. It’s just odd. (#7) There just isn’t enough here to be intriguing. It’s a hamfisted and cheaply designed poster.

Trailer Rating: C- / B-

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Review: (#1) While I like seeing an attempt being made to create something unique, the trailer itself is dull and lifeless, with events that aren’t engaging or significant.

(#2) Held back for two years after the explosive collapse of The Weinstein Company, the film is finally seeing the light of day. This new trailer has some invigorating aspects to it, but is otherwise inert.

Oscar Prospects:

There was a time when The Weinstein Company was a major Oscar player, but he hasn’t been in a few years. The further recent revelations about Harvey Weinstein’s long history of sexual harassment have likely destroyed the studio’s chances for at least this year, possibly for several to come.