When it comes to “The Counselor,” Ridley Scott‘s new movie based on “No Country for Old Men” author Cormac McCarthy‘s first original screenplay, there seems to be no middle ground: it’s either going to be amazing or utterly unwatchable. We’ve watched, in a kind of hushed fascination, as each new trailer and image has debuted from the movie: will this all jell into something rich and dazzling, like the Ridley Scott of yore, or will it be a spectacular disaster, like an air show crash or “A Good Year.” With the movie’s October release date fast approaching, we’ll know soon enough. And a handful of new images, plus a new poster, continue our wide-eyed appreciation.
Both the new images and the poster emphasize the movie’s very colorful (sometimes literally) cast, with Scott’s “Prometheus” star Michael Fassbender playing a lawyer who gets in too deep with the drug cartels, Penelope Cruz as his adoring fiancé and Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt all playing assorted underworld weirdos (if you want to know how bizarre, just look at everyone’s hair). Also there’s a cheetah involved.
The images, of course, look very cool, although the poster, which mashes up a bunch of the aforementioned images, is kind of a mess. It offers little in terms of context, tone, or atmosphere, and unrealistically positions Brad Pitt as the movie’s lead when he is, in fact, just another weirdo.
“The Counselor,” which is dedicated to Ridley’s brother Tony Scott who tragically committed suicide last summer, will be released on October 25th. Whether horrible or wonderful, you can bet it’ll be spectacular. [Ray Subers]
