Review -- Shoot 'Em Up
Shoot ‘Em Up (2007)
Director: Michael Davis
Starring: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci
Canadian Rating: 18A
1 star out of 4 (Bad)
By Albert Tam
Shoot ‘Em Up doesn’t even run 90 minutes but by the time it’s over you were hoping a bullet had come through the screen to end your misery an hour earlier.
Clive Owen is the hero of this movie and he plays a guy named Smith who one day, while standing at a bus stop, decides to rescue a pregnant woman who is being pursued by men with guns. Shootouts ensue and Smith is left to keep the baby after the woman is killed. He enlists the help of his prostitute lover Donna, played by Monica Bellucci, to help take care of the baby while they avoid Hertz, played by Paul Giamatti, and his guns blazing crew who want the child.
The title Shoot ‘Em Up already depicts what this movie is about: loud, flashy, stylized violence and director Michael Davis gives us exactly that.
I will be honest when I say that I was sufficiently entertained for the first half hour but soon after that it got unrelenting and headache inducing and we are plagued with the same series of events over and over: bad guys with bad aim, Clive Owen with amazing aim, and lots and lots of blood.
The actors are all clearly having fun and Owen delivers one-liners with such over-the-topness that it results in a guffaw or two. I won’t give you an example because they are probably the most entertaining part of this movie.
What Shoot ‘Em Up essentially feels like is a video game with live and talented actors. It is mindless, it is violent, the plot just kind of happens and it will please teenage boys with 86 minutes to spare.
I naturally believe that Michael Davis did an impressive job as a director since he visualized the stunt work so well. One critic described it as a feature that would make John Woo jealous and that was my response too because what Davis has done is create John Woo on steroids.
For those who revel in pure onscreen violence, Shoot ‘Em Up will be a treat. It certainly isn’t as grating as Michael Bay’s Transformer movies since it’s about half the length, but it’s still not much better.
Now, I don’t want to be the concerned adult and talk about how action movies can be a bad influence on children but let’s just say you don’t let your kids watch Shoot ‘Em Up until they are intelligent enough to understand the severity of the lack of gun control in North America. This is a fun and unintelligent movie for mature and knowledgeable people grounded in reality.
Don’t show it to anybody that doesn’t what that means.
Director: Michael Davis
Starring: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci
Canadian Rating: 18A
1 star out of 4 (Bad)
By Albert Tam
Shoot ‘Em Up doesn’t even run 90 minutes but by the time it’s over you were hoping a bullet had come through the screen to end your misery an hour earlier.
Clive Owen is the hero of this movie and he plays a guy named Smith who one day, while standing at a bus stop, decides to rescue a pregnant woman who is being pursued by men with guns. Shootouts ensue and Smith is left to keep the baby after the woman is killed. He enlists the help of his prostitute lover Donna, played by Monica Bellucci, to help take care of the baby while they avoid Hertz, played by Paul Giamatti, and his guns blazing crew who want the child.
The title Shoot ‘Em Up already depicts what this movie is about: loud, flashy, stylized violence and director Michael Davis gives us exactly that.
I will be honest when I say that I was sufficiently entertained for the first half hour but soon after that it got unrelenting and headache inducing and we are plagued with the same series of events over and over: bad guys with bad aim, Clive Owen with amazing aim, and lots and lots of blood.
The actors are all clearly having fun and Owen delivers one-liners with such over-the-topness that it results in a guffaw or two. I won’t give you an example because they are probably the most entertaining part of this movie.
What Shoot ‘Em Up essentially feels like is a video game with live and talented actors. It is mindless, it is violent, the plot just kind of happens and it will please teenage boys with 86 minutes to spare.
I naturally believe that Michael Davis did an impressive job as a director since he visualized the stunt work so well. One critic described it as a feature that would make John Woo jealous and that was my response too because what Davis has done is create John Woo on steroids.
For those who revel in pure onscreen violence, Shoot ‘Em Up will be a treat. It certainly isn’t as grating as Michael Bay’s Transformer movies since it’s about half the length, but it’s still not much better.
Now, I don’t want to be the concerned adult and talk about how action movies can be a bad influence on children but let’s just say you don’t let your kids watch Shoot ‘Em Up until they are intelligent enough to understand the severity of the lack of gun control in North America. This is a fun and unintelligent movie for mature and knowledgeable people grounded in reality.
Don’t show it to anybody that doesn’t what that means.