Shoot ‘Em Up Poster Analysis

The man in the main picture centre of the poster could be seen as the main character as he is the is shown as the biggest in the  photo and is holding the guns in the position of opening fire. The picture connotes that he could be about to shoot or has shot someone in the film.

The tag line “no name, no past, nothing to loose. Is very strong and is hilighting that the man has no fear of dyeing or he has lost something e.g. his family and he is killing for them to get some payback.  The other characters in the poster are a woman standing in a seductive pose in the background. She is wearing a pink jacket and has a well polished appearance. Which could show that she is the mans partner and acting like the ‘femme fatale’ women which is typical for the thriller genre

The background image looks like an urban setting, which is typical of the ‘action thriller’ sub genre, there are cars on the road but no people. This may be because of the gun shooting so they have run, or the fact that all the action happens at night so there are less witnesses etc. the colours of the setting are gray and dull also a misty/blur effect, light blue and white also black are also used. This is the typical colours of an urban setting (backstreets) at night. The other colours used in the poster are very dark, the only colour really used which stands out is the purple on the coat which the woman is wearing  which could be because the woman is meant to stand out in some way..

The other man in the poster looks like he is trying to kill the main character, he is holding a gun up as if he is looking to find him and shoot. Is he the main mans backup or enemy?

The main text (title)  is in the same angle as the man. “shoot ‘em up” connotes there is more than one person that needs to be shot. The fact that the man has two guns could show this as well. Also the other characters in the background could be the people he is going to shoot or something happen to them.  Also the way the title connects to the main also could connote that he is the main character and will be pulling the trigger.

All these things in the poster all connect to make a thriller genre, the Guns are classic thriller iconography. Also shown in an ‘action’ pose and low angle makes him appear more dramatic and the “femme fatale’ type women that are shown