Starring: Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci, Paul Giamatti
Directed By: Michael Davis
Rating: R

• Official Site

Take a little bit of Sin City, Running Scared, The Professional, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction and Crank and roll it all into one film (but with more bullets), and you have Shoot 'Em Up. I don"t remember when I"ve seen a film with this many shots fired, and that includes Saving Private Ryan.

{mosgoogle right}We are treated to about 5 minutes of ‘normalcy’ during the whole movie. Even the sex scene takes on an aura of the macabre when the shooting starts. I don’t know what Writer/Director Michael Davis had in mind when he penned the film, but what turned up on the screen is one blazing, brutal, relentless, and sometimes-comedic flick that leaves you breathless right up to the very end. If you are a male with raging testosterone levels and need a ‘shot’ to send you over the top, SHOOT ‘EM UP fills the bill.

It’s hard to describe what the movie is about because I’m still numb from all the bullets being fired and characters being introduced at such a fast clip, so I will give you New Line’s synopses according to their website. “A gritty, fast-paced action thriller,…(that) kicks into high gear with a memorable opening scene and never relents. Clive Owen stars as Mr. Smith, a mysterious loner who teams up with an unlikely ally (Belluci) to protect a newborn baby from a determined criminal (Giamatti), who hunts them throughout the bowels of the city.” I probably could have put it into better words, but it probably would have spoiled whatever there is of the unremarkable storyline.

Actually, most of my comments were made tongue-in-cheek, as I liked the film. Shoot "em Up has some brilliant cinematography, good acting on the part of Owen and Giamatti, great comedic moments, some unique ways of shooting bad guys, and a dozen other things I can’t remember because I’m still shell-shocked.

On the downside, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Monica Bellucci’s thick Italian accent, it made her dialogue very hard to understand. Also, I really don’t think Paul Giamatti’s necrophilia scene was necessary; we already knew by then that his character was depraved.

Well...anyone want to go target shooting? Whew!

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."