Review of Shoot 'Em Up (2007) by Xgary X — 27 Mar 2013

Clive Owen is minding his own business when a pregnant woman stumbles by pursued by gun-toting villains. Feeling obliged to help, he ends up the target of an army of black-clad bad guys, complete with newborn baby and hooker with a heart in tow.

If Raising Arizona had been written by Jackie Chan and directed by John Woo, this film would've been the result! Shoot 'em up does exactly what is says on the tin; it's really nothing more than a collection of nicely choreographed set-pieces and painful one liners.

To be honest, it's the kind of film where if one single part of it had been misjudged, the whole thing would've fallen apart. For example, if super-cool Clive Owen hadn't been cast as Mr. Smith and we'd had Jason Statham instead, it probably would've reeked.

But as it is, it's just the right side of tongue in cheek, never taking itself too seriously. I would've liked to have seen at least some attempt at a plot, Monica Bellucci is strangely unsexy considering her considerable physical charms, and some of the one-liners are cheesy enough to be in a Carry On film but it's a flimsy bit of fun that at 80 minutes doesn't outstay its welcome.