analysis of a film poster

Analysis of the Taken 2 film poster.

 

The image:

The main image of the poster is of Liam Neeson who is the main actor in the film. He is centre of the poster so it indicates to the audience that he is the most important character in the film. Half of his face is shadowed in black which connotes that he has something to hide and that something bad is going to happen (Liam Neeson and his wife get taken), and makes the audience question what it is he has to hide. The other half of his face looks quite pale which could also connote that something good is going to come out of what ever bad is going to happen (his daughter saves them. His posture suggests that he is quite relaxed, and the way he is holding the gun indicates that he is experienced. The gun is also an enigma code that there is going to be lots of action and violence to be expected of the film.

 

The text:

Unusually, the title and Liam Neeson's name are near enough the same size. This suggests to the audience that the title of the film and the name of the actor are of the same importance. This may be because it is a sequel so the producers feel that 'TAKEN 2' doesn't need to be the main feature of the film poster as the first one did so well. Another reason could be that because Liam Neeson is a well known actor, people may see his name and go and watch it just because they like the actor. 'TAKEN 2' is in thick red writing which connotes danger, blood and violence, this could draw the audience in because they might relate it to a certain genre. Liam Neeson's name is in a big white font above the name of the film. This suggests that his name is more of a selling point than the name of the actual film.