Film Preview: Game Night (2018)

Page Revisions:

(November 12, 2017) Original
(February 4, 2018) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#1-#4)
(February 11, 2018) Added Image Gallery
(February 18, 2018) New Release Date (changed from 3/2/18)

Release Date:

February 23, 2018

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery.”

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

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Review: (#1) No doubt the Monopoly pieces being blurry in the background is an attempt to reference the popular board game without running afoul of its rights holder, the six-sided dice, the Scrabble tile and the Sorry pieces give the audience sufficient clues as to what the film is about even if the design feels a bit lifeless. (#2) This one may be too spot on. Using non-Scrabble letter tiles flies in the face of the prior design, but the biggest problem here is that they could have just left the “U” out altogether and let the viewer piece it together, but they couldn’t allow them to fail to get it. (#3) That white background is awful, but the Sorry pawns, one dead, and one with a ski mask, are an interesting reference. (#4) This foreign poster design does what the others don’t and puts real people on it, specifically the film’s two stars. That will help sell the film when the other designs so far aren’t likely to. There are cards, dice, and pawns to represent the “game” aspect and the dog has a bloody paw, which is a reference to the trailer. Otherwise, the design feels too stagey.

Trailer Rating: A / B+

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Review: (#1) A number of downright funny moments punctuate this trailer for a movie that feels fresh and inventive. That it stars two terrific comedic actors at the center and a periphery of fine support makes it all the more appealing.

(#2) The plot is given in far greater detail here, which doesn’t necessarily hinder the film’s interesting elements. That hindrance comes from fewer genuinely hysterical moments. Leaving them for the film is a good idea, but there needs to be more than just good will leftover from the first trailer that propels the more detailed trailer to success.