Leon: Action Thriller

 Conventions of an Action Thriller:
- Crime is often involved.
- Antagonist & Protagonist
- More exposure to actual violence or crime as opposed to psychological thrillers.
- Editing style is continuous and naturalistic.
- Often portrays women or children as vulnerable and protagonist seems to help them.
- Protagonist is a solitary figure.
- Protagonists lives a routine life.
- Audience introduced to the plot immediately, you know what will happen its more how it will happen.

Characters:
There are several characters introduced in the opening sequence. Almost instantly, the main character is introduced and depicted as a hired killer. We learn that he is dangerous after witnessing him commit several violent murders. It is therefore hard to envisage him as the protagonist role, however later on in the sequence it becomes clear that he is in fact the protagonist. This is shown when he sees 'Matilda' the abused little girl has a bruise on her head, and he seems concerned when he questions as to how she acquired it. Matilda is shown as submissive and vulnerable, this could be related to her gender and her age. We are taken on a visual voyage of discovery into her apartment, where we witness abuse from her father and her older sister. The mother of the two daughters and the wife of the father does not talk to the younger daughter, even when the mother and father are in a "intimate" situation, the father is left to deal with the younger daughter. Also, she ignores Matilda's statement that the older sister took her turn to watch the television. Matilda is definitely seen to be an inferior character within her family, this is due to her age and gender, which are key.
 conventions in the sub-genre of action thriller. Matilda's father is shown to be a very dominant member of the family but outside of the family he is shown to be very weak. This emphasises the vulnerability of Matilda as the father needs to express his dominance in the family as he has none outside of it.

In contrast to a psychological Thriller, the action thriller uses continuous and naturalistic editing whereas a psychological Thriller will attempt to cause a mysterious effect using montage editing. In terms of whether this is conventional of Thrillers, that is entirely depemndant on the sub- genre of the thriller. One of the most significant shots in the early sequences is the low angle shot of the main character, this emphasis his dangerousness and the fear he commands. Contrastingly to this, we see a p.o.v high angle shot of the protagonist on to Matilda, suggesting again her vulnerability.