What happened to the movie tagline, asks Nancy Friedman. “They used to be memorable and quotable. Now they’re redundant, wordy, or banal.”
“Sinners is about music, vampires, and racism, with Michael B. Jordan — who’d go on to win an Oscar for Best Actor — in a double role: That’s his dual photo on the poster. But the tagline doesn’t even hint at any of that. It merely repeats the title and leads you to think this film might be religious propaganda.”
I’d push back on a few of her opinions (Project Hail Mary is obviously not about football, One Battle After Another is a marvel), but Friedman’s larger point firmly stands. I mean, Spider-Man: A Brand New Days? “A Brand New Day stars now.” Yikes.
Attempted to find a good recent example, and felt like the closest I could find was 28 Years Later’s “Time didn’t heal anything.”
Some from the past that sprung to mind:
Alien: In space, no one can hear you scream.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin: The longer you wait, the harder it gets.
The Godfather: An offer you can’t refuse.
Mars Attacks!: Nice planet. We’ll take it!
The Matrix: Reality is a thing of the past.
Yep. Better.
(Via Kottke)