Shoot 'Em Up

Action films, of late, have been...well...pretty crappy and I think the audience for action films have known this which is why there has been a surge in interest in comic book films that tend to have lots of action. In fact, most of the better action films tend to be smaller releases such as Ong-Bak and District B13. But a movie whose description mentions the main character helping to birth a baby in the middle of a gunfight grabbed me by the balls and made me go see it. You've probably seen the commercials for it and the crazy over the top action in it with Clive Owens. Well, unless you've seen the movie then you haven't really seen over the top yet.

Shoot 'Em Up plays like a videogame turned into real life with bosses and crazy levels where any part of the environment is indestructible. In some ways, it feels like the writer/ director Michael Davis said, here are some badass ideas for a fight scene/s now lets create some sort of through line. Then again, the story does do a great job of commenting on what it means to be a good person and father. It also shares a real love of gunplay that I haven't seen since Equilibrium. Davis obviously wanted to show how many ways to could kill someone with bullets and guns, the most inventive of course being holding bullets near a fire until they get so hot they fire. Because of the bizarre story line and the excellent fight scenes, I have issues with how to judge this film. It's like watching Ultraviolet except good. Storywise, it feels haphazard and will-o-the-wisp, but it has enough gravitas to weigh down this fun crazy shooter to keep the film from flying away completely. Oh, by the way, the introduction to Clive Owen in this film is one of the best introductions I have seen in a long time. (Whats up with all the ridiculous references to cartoons? Trying to accent the cartoon violence?)

As for acting, well, the three main characters are Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, and Monica Belucci. All three of which have pretty cut and dry characters. Clive Owen is the Duke Nukem hobo badass. Possibly a previous black ops man who of course can wipe out thousands with his ingenuity. Paul Giamatti is the crazy sicko hired help bad guy who is trying to kill a baby that Owen has taken. Belluci is the whore who decides to help Owen and they kind of fall into the rhythm of being a couple and adopt the child as their own somewhat. Now both Giamatti and Owen have their own ticks as characters and I really like both of their jobs. Giamatti looks incredibly creepy and Owen is a major badass and there are moments where you realize that this is essentially his Bond film if he were Bond. And thank God Belluci is in this as a hooker because she is so hot! Unfortunately, I don't know what the heck to do with Giamatti's bizarre accent. It just doesn't fit and he comes across slightly as an evil version of the KFC icon. It really throws me everytime he speaks and I never liked it in this movie. Doesn't seem to fit. But besides that, all of the actors do great jobs with the narrowly defined characters they were given.

Directorially, the shots are beautiful and crisp and the director obviously knows how to turn a heavy scene in to a funny moment and then back. I was quite impressed with teh handling of the comedy bits, they were just right and at worst amusing to see, but never annoying. The action scenes, while yes, they are quite out there and very specific to this film, are still awe inspiring and a necessary watch for any action directors out there looking to make a high adrenaline movie.

Conclusion:
The setup is very stylistic and the directing becomes abvious but it is done in a way to accent the crazy scripted fights that happen constantly. The over the top attitude of the characters, actors, and everything comes together nicely with the constant cartoon violence and feel. Essentially, this is a saturday morning cartoon involving lots of guns and violence using real people. I highly recommend everyone to see thsi film and make your own opinion, but I'm going to stick to...

4.2 out of 5

Wannabe