Want to see more Marketing Analysis, Reviews of Movies, TV Shows and more? Then you will find it here at The Archive. Want to be know what I am up to? Then you can find me on Facebook or Twitter!
Poster Analysis
Introduction
After focusing so strongly on Marvel Studios I believed it was finally time for a change of pace. Now, I recently had the opportunity to finally purchase the movie “Dredd” and must say it truly is one of the most underrated movies. Especially when one considers what reputation the character of Judge Dredd had to suffer at the hands of Stallone’s interpretation. This also further cements the issue of R-Rated comic book movies in the industry, which seemed to have become almost box office poison further shown with “Kick-Ass 2”. Still, there is something quite fascinating about these characters as the darker tone allows it them to develop in very unusual ways, very notably with the world building. I am not a person to condone violence but there are some that use it to great effect, and by far this is the best usage of violence to cement what kind of world they live in.
So, as it was the most recent film I have viewed I thought it to be considered to not only look at their illustrated marketing decisions. While researching I came around a petition for Dredd to make a sequel and it seemed to have garnered quite a strong vocal fan base. I personally am a part of it as this film truly proved that every R-rated comedy is capable of being more than a simple gore fest. There seem to be more fan posters for the movie than there were actual official releases. As my first venture outside of the dominant Marvel Cinematic Universe, which inspired my articles in the first place also seemed to have dominated most of what I wrote. It was about time I would start heading in a different direction so why not start off with one of the best recent films I got to see. Does the poster convey the same message the film does or was it too close to the competition that it never stood out?
Poster Analysis
Anyone who has been following my reviews probably noticed that I love posters that have a rather ominous design. Simplicity can truly work for one’s advantage if done correctly, which is certainly the case here. Anyone who has any idea of the character Dredd, or has at least seen the film with Stallone will recognize the design as well as blaster. It also states more than what we think as throughout the entire movie we know nothing about Judge Dredd, as if he was cast in shadow while we follow him throughout the entire movie. We are unaware if we should understand his ideals or if he simply is the only cure in such a world full of crime. As we don’t know all too much about the movie at the time this poster was released it is still effective. Consider you have no idea about the character but all you have is the tagline “Judgement is Coming” with him slowly coming out of the shadows. It spikes curiosity in the viewer and should have been great way to drawn an audience in, or at least those familiar with the character.
Those lucky enough had the chance to see the movie ahead of time at San Diego Comic Con in 2012. Naturally, to get people interested in seeing the movie ahead of time some posters were scattered with our titular character in various stances. Another rather simplistic approach that probably had the main purpose of drawing in its audience at the convention. As I wasn’t able to attention I checked online what variations existed and chose mainly two that represented the beginning and end. What I mean by that is rather simple, the posters are designed that the closer you get to the screening the characters movies to allow the viewer to see more of him. Great concept especially if you would be standing in line to see the movie it hypes you up. The pose almost makes sense, as you’ll never truly have enough time to shoot Dredd in the back, as he’ll already be turning around to shoot you.
The actual poster for the release of the movie is a nice advance from the original teaser. As the character is finally out of the shadow we see what kind of world he lives in. The focus seems to imply that he is a man that stands in the middle of destruction. The buildings behind him are the direct reference to where the entire movie takes place. It is a great way to build up for the action while simply using the tagline once more to push forward how strong our protagonist truly is. My only problem with the overall design choices is that they only focus on him. It makes perfect sense why Dredd is on the poster of the series that is named after him, but anyone who had watched the movie will know that the story focuses more on the new recruit than him. Maybe giving other characters a chance to come into the spotlight would have attracted a wider range of people.
Conclusion
Overall there are some great design choices here, but maybe a little lacking in variety. Naturally when one considers the title of the movie, Judge Dredd would be focused on the posters, but I think the other characters like the rookie or Ma-Ma were great in the movie so giving them a poster would have been a nice touch to not only give them some time in the spotlight but also allow some interest from a female audience. Personally, still think these are some great designs and certainly fitting to the movie.
The movie truly deserves more respect than it received, sadly though we live in a world where the box office determines how a movie truly does. As I mentioned in my last review, posters have a very minimalistic function as they are either too highlight an upcoming movie or simply remind one of its existence. Variety helps a great deal as seeing the same poster over and over again simply loses its strength. Now, this movie had a rather small budget and probably wouldn’t allow them to make as many posters as they could have. Still, they did what they could and from a rather artistic standpoint they are great posters. Wonder what would have happened if they were allowed to make a sequel, or at least hope it will become a reality.