Shoot 'Em Up
May 22, 2011
Carrots make good weapons too!
The art of going over-the-top in action movies has been portrayed many times, with flicks such as "Wanted" to "300" to "Running Scared" and even every Michael Bay film.I can promise you this, "Shoot Em Up" is one of the most stylish and over-the-top shooter movies you'll ever see.Everything in this film goes beyond logic.Whether it's the story or the action scenes or even the sometimes bad but amusing one-liners, this is how you pull off an action movie that doesn't make a lick of sense.When it comes right down to it, "Shoot Em Up" is basically an 86 minute version of an episode of Looney Tunes.With all the puns and cartoon-ish scenes, why wouldn't it be a live action version of, oh, Bugs Bunny? That being said, I had a lot of fun watching this movie.Everything that happened in it, even if it was downright looney and cartoon-ish, put a smile on my face.What could be funner than a sex scene AND a shootout happening at the same time and location? You don't get them very often, so just sit back and go with the mind-less anarchy and you'll have a blast!
The movie starts RIGHT into a bloody shootout where Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) tries to protect a pregnant women from a bunch of thugs.Smith delivers the baby and tries to protect it from the assassins after they kill the woman.He goes to Donna Quintano, a hooker played by the sexy Monica Belluci, to keep the baby for a day but she refuses.After she confronts the bad boy of the thugs, Hertz (Paul Giamatti), she is forced to help protect the baby with Smith while he kills a thug or two along the way.However, they want to know why in the world are these people trying to kill this baby.After finding out the motive behind such a cruel act, Smith goes on a desperate move to try to protect the baby AND kill Hertz before he can accomplish his violent goal.
Add in a kick ass rock soundtrack, a lot of bloody shootouts, hilarious dialogue, and non-stop wit and you pretty much have this movie rolled up into your sleeves.Paul Giamatti pretty much steals the show here.Even though I liked Clive and Monica a LOT, there's just something about Paul that's just so much fun.Whether it's his dialogue or presence, his performance is falt out irresistable.Talking about Owen, what's not to like about him? His character is fun, funny, angry, violent, and loves carrots! Speaking of which, some of the death scenes in this movie are very creative.Ponytails are shot off, genitals are shot, brains are blown out, people fall in helicopter blades, and carrots are shoved in eyeballs and skulls.Yes, carrots are used to kill people.What is not creative about that? Like you're ever going to see that in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
So yeah, I really enjoyed "Shoot Em Up". It's a fast and heavily violent movie that has enough interesting characters, blood-splatter, and guns to satisfy fans of hard-core action flicks.You want a smart and serious movie with a plot that makes sense? Go watch another movie.You want a fun shooter with lots of guns and blood? You've come to the right place!
Grade: B+
The art of going over-the-top in action movies has been portrayed many times, with flicks such as "Wanted" to "300" to "Running Scared" and even every Michael Bay film.I can promise you this, "Shoot Em Up" is one of the most stylish and over-the-top shooter movies you'll ever see.Everything in this film goes beyond logic.Whether it's the story or the action scenes or even the sometimes bad but amusing one-liners, this is how you pull off an action movie that doesn't make a lick of sense.When it comes right down to it, "Shoot Em Up" is basically an 86 minute version of an episode of Looney Tunes.With all the puns and cartoon-ish scenes, why wouldn't it be a live action version of, oh, Bugs Bunny? That being said, I had a lot of fun watching this movie.Everything that happened in it, even if it was downright looney and cartoon-ish, put a smile on my face.What could be funner than a sex scene AND a shootout happening at the same time and location? You don't get them very often, so just sit back and go with the mind-less anarchy and you'll have a blast!
The movie starts RIGHT into a bloody shootout where Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) tries to protect a pregnant women from a bunch of thugs.Smith delivers the baby and tries to protect it from the assassins after they kill the woman.He goes to Donna Quintano, a hooker played by the sexy Monica Belluci, to keep the baby for a day but she refuses.After she confronts the bad boy of the thugs, Hertz (Paul Giamatti), she is forced to help protect the baby with Smith while he kills a thug or two along the way.However, they want to know why in the world are these people trying to kill this baby.After finding out the motive behind such a cruel act, Smith goes on a desperate move to try to protect the baby AND kill Hertz before he can accomplish his violent goal.
Add in a kick ass rock soundtrack, a lot of bloody shootouts, hilarious dialogue, and non-stop wit and you pretty much have this movie rolled up into your sleeves.Paul Giamatti pretty much steals the show here.Even though I liked Clive and Monica a LOT, there's just something about Paul that's just so much fun.Whether it's his dialogue or presence, his performance is falt out irresistable.Talking about Owen, what's not to like about him? His character is fun, funny, angry, violent, and loves carrots! Speaking of which, some of the death scenes in this movie are very creative.Ponytails are shot off, genitals are shot, brains are blown out, people fall in helicopter blades, and carrots are shoved in eyeballs and skulls.Yes, carrots are used to kill people.What is not creative about that? Like you're ever going to see that in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
So yeah, I really enjoyed "Shoot Em Up". It's a fast and heavily violent movie that has enough interesting characters, blood-splatter, and guns to satisfy fans of hard-core action flicks.You want a smart and serious movie with a plot that makes sense? Go watch another movie.You want a fun shooter with lots of guns and blood? You've come to the right place!
Grade: B+
Posted by Tyler Kirk.
