Review of Shoot 'Em Up (2007) by Shane K — 28 Apr 2010

Are you looking for a deeply engrossing narrative with rich character & a script hat delves deep in the complex issues that effect your very world view.? No? Excellent, then you're probably in the right frame of mind for Shoot em up. A movie that I can only describe as action packed gun porn.

The plot involves a loner tough & hooker with a heart protecting a new born baby from shadowy gun men. But for all intents & purposes the plot in this gun porn is like the plot in actual porn, filling. Something to fill the gap between the action sequences. To be fair, there are some good one liners & there's even a message (but it's possibly the most retarded one possible in this context).

The action scenes are retarded in the best possible way. Clive Owen mows down a veritable assembly line of nameless goons in increasingly creative ways. There's shootout car chases, shootout skydives, shoot out's at playgrounds, shootouts in the public toilet, puppet guns (seriously) there's even a shootout at a gun factory. It isn't just guns, people are killed with carrots on 2 separate occasions. Basically it's big dumb fun.

The cast are good, Clive Owen does the wisecracking bad ass thing well (his role reminded me of his character in Sin City (sans the iffy American accent)). Monica Bellucci lays on the melodrama incredibly thick (once again not a bad thing) & looks great, it's hard to believe she's pushing 50. Paul Giamatti is, in my opinion, the standout, you can tell he knows the movie is schlock, & he just hams it up to the extreme. The rest of the supporting cast... Who am I kiddin? Everyone else serves as cannon fodder for the action goodness. Basically nobody's getting an Oscar but they all work well with the material.

There are down sides. The filler plot can stretch on a bit too long & you start to get antsy waiting for someone to get shot (or stabbed with a carrot). I'm not saying the dialogue is terrible, as previously stated there are some good one liners, but it's not the movies strong suit. Also for a film that aiming for our most base instincts that features Monica Bellucci, it could've used more nudity (Yeah!!! I Said it!!!) & explosions. The other big black mark is the aforementioned colossally retarded "message" (which might have been included as a joke (it certainly isn't presented that way)) that just causes the movie to fall a little in my estimation.

All & all, Shoot em up is quality retardtainment . If you liked Smoking Aces this should be right up your alley.