Cinematical

Unlike Ryan, who has written most of the info on The Dark is Rising up until now, I am not familiar with Susan Cooper's fantasy novels. So, as is often the case, I'm looking at a poster with a fresh mindset. I have read some bits and pieces about the adaptation, though, and have seen some of the disappointed comments regarding the choice of director and the changes made from book to movie. I can't imagine that this new poster, which MTV shares with us, gives any new hope to fans.

First of all, the title and credits in the middle is just not pleasing to the eye. It could just be my being used to seeing them on the bottom, but something about their placement there makes all the stuff beneath seem unimportant yet distracting. Obviously the placement is to divide the two groups of characters, but they seem so contrasted that each makes the other appear kinda silly. The top section looks like a cheap Lord of the Rings knockoff -- Christopher Eccleston's Rider even seems to intentionally evoke Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn -- while the bottom section looks more Clockstoppers than Harry Potter, which is what I imagine the studio would prefer (though this didn't work for Eragon).

This is the kind of one-sheet that makes me wish Drew Struzan could paint every poster. The style, though more photoshop/photorealistic, is totally his, with all the little plot details represented in the background, but the composition and design is nowhere near as good. It isn't even as good as most of those influenced by his style these days. Whoever made it should have paid more attention to the original Fellowship of the Ring poster, and learned how to copy correctly. If this artwork does have you intrigued, take a look at the production stills we released last month. And make sure to see if the movie does the books justice when it comes out this October.