It’s more than just a terrible poster. It’s a visual allegory for everything wrong with film marketing.
COURAGE, it reads in big block letters. Just as big as the title and even more prominent because it’s in stark red. But when you look into those eyes, those big dreamy eyes, what feeling is emoted?
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
cour·age (\?k?r-ij, ?k?-rij\) noun
mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty
Yeah, nice try but I don’t think so. Jake Gyllenhaal’s blank face expresses not even the slightest hint of courageousness, which makes this poster for Disney’s upcoming epic action adventure film video game movie very peculiar indeed. Words they might have tried instead: BOREDOM, FATIGUE, LETHARGY. He looks like he was just woken up from a nap in his double-banger, was dragged a couple of feet outside, and was told just to look into the camera.
As if that weren’t enough, the font is sans-serif, a typeface usually associated with modernity. As the film takes place in ancient times, this choice is horribly misguided and just plain sloppy. How much do you think the poster artist got paid for the five minutes of Photoshop that this took to complete? It would be comforting to think that this was merely a rough draft that a marketing exec stumbled upon and mistook for the final product, but unfortunately that’s not the case. It’s pathetic, really.
What’s even more pathetic is the fact that that Disney knows this movie isn’t going to be that good. It’s based on a video game, after all, and everyone knows that video games don’t have the best track record when it comes to translating to film. They know it’s going to be a flashy, effects-driven popcorn tentpole with wooden characters and sprinkled with the occasional quasi-emotional scene that tries to emulate real drama but can’t quite find the right beats, kind of like watching a cat trying to climb a brick wall. It’s Pirates of the Caribbean in the desert. Sparkling fodder for the masses. And if you think I’m being crass, consider this: it was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
The audience knows it too. They have to. There’s no way that anyone of sound mind can watch the trailer and proclaim that this will be the next Braveheart. Deep down, they know exactly what kind of movie they’re paying to see. So what does Disney do? Market to the lowest common denominator, of course. Their sure things. This poster isn’t trying to persuade the cultured crowd. It’s for tween girls with crushes. Its counterpart, Gemma Arterton’s poster with the word DESTINY on the top, does the same thing. It sells the star, not the film.
But like clockwork, Prince of Persia is going to rake in millions, there will be at least two sequels, each more shallow and utilizing heavier special effects than the one before it, and so on and so forth. There’s really nothing to do but sit back and watch it happen.
Zach Copeland is a Senior Writer for The Film Crusade.
Ha! I had the same reaction about this loathsome poster, I actually posted it on my blog to rant about it, something I rarely do but Disney was just begging for it. I count myself blessed I’m not their target market, but still it’s aggravating to see a movie like this make millions… and all we can do is watch & shake our heads.