Gangster Squad

Ruben Fleischer, which was made in January 2013. The genre of the movie is American action, crime, and thriller. I selected this movie because it just intrigues me how the underground world got started in Hollywood through gangs, big money, and drugs. What caught my attention on the poster was the name of the movie and how it looked like it was going to be in the 20th century and how the characters were ready for a fight. It takes place in Los Angeles where the mafia mostly got its start. It's about how the Los Angeles Police Department has to stop a mob boss or a mafia gang to make the streets better.

The movie poster seems to represent an era in the early twentieth century according to the attire and the weapons in the picture. It makes it that century because the hair style the men have is slicked back indicating that the movie takes place in the forties or fifties. All three men are wearing light blue suits which could indicate they might be a detective or private investigation. The use of a tommy gun makes it like this too, because robbers don't use that kind of weaponry today.

A lot of action is taking place in this poster with many things happening. The man on the left, Ryan Gosling, appears to be in his mid-thirties or forties. He seems to be thinking about a memory or maybe it could be at the girl in the bottom right. Just how their posture is on both of them. Goslings face looks more calm and collective than the other two men on the poster. In his right hand he's holding a cigarette, which could mean he is under stress or going through a hard time in his life. He also seems to be sitting down in a chair based on how he's resting his arm on his leg. He's facing away towards the side of the poster, where there is a light glistening on half his face. It could indicate that he's looking at something that's towards a bright object.

On the front of the poster it says, No Names. No Badges. No Mercy. This means that no names will be given for someone who ratted out. No badges indicate that some of the people on the poster are undercover cops. It could also be that certain men don't want to have their names seen on their badges to lose their identity. No mercy is probably suggesting that they have to do what they have to do. To no mercy that the men are going to do anything it takes to stop either the police force or the mafia, and nobody is safe. Followed by the quote, there is a woman (Emma Stone) wearing a bright red dress.

It could signify that she's very seductive-showing her full body as opposed to the men shown. The color of the red dress could indicate love and passion, which could suggest some romance with one of the main characters. She has a seductive facial expression and posture as if she's looking at someone or the audience. Next to her feet is the release date of the movie on January 11th. The Hollywoodland sign in the background means that it takes place in the late forties of Los Angeles. The land part was torn down because the whole sign needed to be repaired and it didn't want to reflect the district as Hollywoodland as a housing development. The sky in the background is cloudy and creates a darkness over the three characters symbolizing a possible crime or action. The dark sky could also mean that things are going to be foul play or even death.

The character on the right of the poster has a serious expression. He's holding a pistol, pointing it towards the front of the poster. He might be looking at someone who is probably armed or a criminal. He seems to be an officer or undercover cop based on his appearance. He has his eyes locked on something that isn't shown and his finger ready on the trigger in case that someone is trying to get away from him. The final character in the upper middle section has an aggressive facial expression.

He's looking towards what Ryan Gosling is looking at, but he has his head down and his eyes are up as if he is looking at someone on a higher level than he is. He is also holding a tommy gun in his left hand, which it could probably signify that he is the leader of the two men or the mob boss of a gang or the enemy of them. He has more darkness on his face than the other characters on the poster meaning that he's the bad guy in the movie. In the middle of the three men there appears to be an explosion of some sort or a big blaze. It has six men in front of the flame as if they may blown up something and not feel bad about it. Behind the men and in the flames appears to be an old car of some sort. It probably had the six men in the vehicle or someone died in it. It could also be that they are above the movie title Gangster Squad and may be the squad in the movie.

The poster designer is probably trying to get everyone's attention of the three men with weapons and the flames between them. To also make people know that it's going to be an action and adventure movie set back in the forties with gangsters in it. The target audience is people who are into mafia movies, crime, action, thriller, and violence. All the names of the main actors in the movie are in the poster besides one. It could be that the character dies maybe or he's with the other six men in the flames. It doesn't include the director's name, probably to keep the poster looking like an old poster.

The poster Gangster Squad is effective for a person who wants to see a classic mafia movie with old cars, guns, and flashy clothing. Some people might want to just relive that old feeling of Los Angeles. It's trying to bring in people who are from that kind of era or who have seen things about mafia gangsters. The audience it tries to bring in are probably teens to sixty or seventy year olds who enjoy these kind of movies. This poster really makes me want to go see it just by looking at the characters and the tommy gun itself. To me, I think this poster is successful, but the director should add more of like a city in the back besides the hills of Hollywood. Maybe to some people the hills could signify that it's hard to get over things.

I particularly like that this movie poster had that retro look to it. It makes me want to revisit what it felt like to be there when all that happened in Los Angeles. I don't have anything really to dislike about the poster. It's a great movie poster describing most of what everyone would expect in the movie by just the characters, title, and the background. Overall, Gangster Squad really looks like a great movie to watch and encourage people who like mafia and gangsters. This is a must see!

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