Johnny Depp’s gangster in the ‘Black Mass’ trailer: will this save his career?

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This is the first official still (from EW.com) of Johnny Depp as Bostonian gangster Whitey Bulger. The film’s first trailer dropped yesterday. It actually previewed Tuesday night for a bunch of critics to create “buzz” on Twitter. And maybe so we would stop focusing on how Johnny caused some bumps with a late return to Pirates. The tactic may have worked.

Critics were impressed at Johnny’s “cold and powerful” portrayal of Bulger. I saw it differently because this felt like Johnny slathering himself in makeup again. Bad teeth, crazy contacts (Kaiser called them “zombie contacts.”) I didn’t see “ice cold.” I saw “eccentric and wacky with effectively foreboding background music.” Kaiser and I both agree that Scarfy’s ripping off Joe Pesci in Goodfellas. It’s so obvious and sad. Plus, Scorsese’s film contained humorous and satiric elements, so Depp nipping Pesci’s vibe to play a super-scary guy is distracting. If you haven’t seen the trailer, let’s do this. Benedict Cumberbatch (who plays Whitey’s brother, Bill) makes a quickie appearance at the end. Johnny overreacts (and overacts) over a steak recipe, but it’s supposed to be intimidating.

Kaiser is worried about how this film will affect Bendy’s career, and I can see why she’s concerned. Bendy will be fine, Depp notsomuch. This truly feels like Johnny’s make-or-break effort at legitimate acting. Especially after Transcendence and Mortdecai, he needs a non-Disney hit (although he pretends to not give a f***). This film’s box-office performance will determine whether studios will want anything to do with the Scarfmonster again.

Warner Bros chose a September release date, which means they’re semi-confident. They know audiences see Johnny as a gimmicky joke. His personal life has eclipsed his professional one, and he’s a messy cliché now. The studio didn’t want this film to compete with summer blockbusters, but they felt good enough to not dump it in January or February. I’d love for Johnny to make a real comeback. We’ll see what happens.

Johnny Depp