Review: ‘Shoot ‘Em Up’

Curtis:

With the giving birth during a gunfight scene, Scott mentioned, opening up this adrenaline charged thrill-ride you know you are in for quite a ride straight out of the shoot. This is possibly one of the hardest “It could happen” sells of the year. From the intro into our story, to the story itself. Clive Owen delivers his most fun role to date, as “Mr. Smith” a mysterious by-stander who is thrust into a power struggle larger than he could imagine. Paul Giamatti is beautifully sick, twisted, and sadistic as “Hertz” the hired gun of “Hammerson”(Stephen McHattie). Giamatti is the Henchmen mastermind who seems to be tettering on being a loving husband, stone cold killer,and seeming need to explore necrophilia. “Mr. Smith” is on the run with a newborn he delivered through, the dirtiest, and dingiest places imaginable. Back alley’s, Houses of Illrepute, bathrooms(Mr. Smith actually puts the newborn on a bathroom floor to clean his gun on a changing table). We find out “Hertz” is trying to take out a baby hatchery breeding babies for their bone-marrrow in order to prolong the life of Presidential hopeful, “Senator Rutledge”(Daniel Pilon) who is dying. Apparently the Senator would be passing a bill that doesn’t have a positive financial effect on “Hammerson”. Monica Bellucci is “Donna Quintano” a callgirl from “Mr. Smith’s” past that he pulls into the chase as the baby needs food, and she’s lactating. Probably the most fantastic fight scene took place in mid-air. This is one of the few scene’s where CGI is noticable. Most of the other action is based in reality, even if it is a stretch. This movie is chalk full of great one-liners. Probably has some of the most inventive death scene’s in recent memory. Men don’t do well against helicopter blades. Carrots can be a deadly weapon. I thought these scene’s were just as cool as killing with a tea cup(Chronicles/Riddick).

(4 out of 5)

Scott:

So after just starting Shoot ‘Em Up I was very amused. First of all, the action doesnt take long to jump start the movie. There is a scene in the begining where he is shooting at some thugs, while attempting to deliver a baby and the empty shells are bouncing off her prego belly.

If that wasnt enough once the baby gets here, he SHOOTS OFF the umbilical cord! All of this in the first 2 minutes. Something else is the fact that they scored a Nirvana song for the opening action scene. Now, this might not seem like a big deal but not just anyone can snag a Nirvana song for a soundtrack.

This movie is smart, fun, and action packed with..action. Great fight scenes, car chases, and boobs. What more do you need? Clive Owen is the MAN.

(4 out of 5)

[rating: 4/5]

DVD Details:

• Feature Commentary from Writer/Director Michael Davis

• “Ballet of Bullets” The Making of Shoot `em up!

• Writer/Director Michael Davis’ Original Animatics

• 7 Deleted scenes

• 2 Extended scenes

• Widescreen 2.35:1

• Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound

• Run Time: 86 minutes

• English & Spanish Subtitles/Closed Captioning

The casual movie goer will be snickering at some of the less-believable areas of this film, but if one could suspend their disbelief, this is 86 Minutes of some of the most fun visuals in recent memory.