I’ve felt for a very, very long time that poster-making has become something of a lost art, particularly when it concerns big studio movies or star-driven movies. Seeing even the slightest amount of effort put into the creation of a movie poster tends to pique my interest, so it stands to reason that when somebody really knocks it out of the park with a one-sheet, I get a little bit giddy inside.
Which brings us to this poster for 42, the upcoming Jackie Robinson biopic hailing from Legendary Pictures. It’s kind of spectacular. It’s also slightly reminiscent of the Skyfall poster from last year, but there’s so much more that’s special about this image that it’s hard to know where to start. Should I begin by pointing out that the poster is all Chadwick Boseman, the film’s star, and features not a trace of his white supporting co-stars beyond Harrison Ford’s name? Or should I praise its use of its own confines, and the sense of propulsion and energy the angle here provides (to say nothing of the fact that the poster may be the only one in history to feature flying dirt for a tangible, knowable reason)?
Whatever. This is a great bit of promo material. The first trailer had me at “Jackie Robinson” and “crotchety Harrison Ford”, and while it honestly doesn’t take a genius to come up with something like this, it certainly takes a greater degree of thoughtfulness and care than most studios tend to possess. So kudos to Legendary– if I wasn’t sold in the first place, this would have done it:
Fantastic shot. I feel like this is the sort of singular image that tells a story on its own, and a lot of that has to do with Boseman’s physicality here. Makes me curious to see what else he’s going to bring to the role, but we’ve got a few months left before we find out; 42 hits theaters April 12th, 2013.
(Source: First Showing)
