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What is most evident about Michael Davis' 86-minute shot-of-adrenaline, aptly titled "Shoot 'Em Up", is that it does exactly as it advertises - the film, with as much sex, violence and foul language as Davis was able to cram into the running time, lands mere steps away from some of the overly outlandish fare from Looney Tunes cartoons. Moreover, as the bodies begin to form a rather sizable pile, the film can't be too far a cry from a cinematic version of a shoot-'em-up game you might find on your PlayStation or X-Box.
I can nigh-on guarantee two things that will occur when you finish watching this film - you will want to break something, and you will want to eat a carrot, two things our protagonist does as much as possible in Shoot 'Em Up. Needless to say, the film's plot is expectedly rather ridiculous - Mr. Smith (Owen), a gun-totting, have-a-go-hero, saves a baby from certain slaughter by Hertz (Giamatti) and his seemingly innumerable fleet of armed henchmen, and spends the remaining 75 minutes of the film protecting that baby, with the help of a lactating prostitute, Donna (Bellucci).
From the first moment of the film, until the final, bloody frame, Shoot 'Em Up is tongue-in-cheek all the way - it unabashedly, relentlessly takes a concept that by all rights shouldn't be anything above B-movie standards, and makes fun of it, throwing a host of zany and idiosyncratic characters our way, along with a great deal of hyperactive gunplay that, by comparison, causes the action in The Matrix trilogy to seem realistic. If you're not gripped yet, well, the film also features Clive Owen's character murdering two henchmen with carrots. Yes, carrots.
Davis, if anything, has made a film with confidence - no more than two minutes into the film does the first explosive gunfight begin, with Mr. Smith skidding around in oil, and even helping to delivery a baby mid-battle. Davis could well have made us wait for our action, but he knows what his audience wants, and gives it to them in copious amounts, completely devoid of any shame whatsoever, and it's admirable, as had the action been any less over-the-top, one could almost dismiss this as a dumb action film, but he knows, and revels in the fact that it's ridiculous, and so we can laugh with Davis, rather than at him.
It is to this effect also that, rather than sigh, one is inspired to almost laugh as Smith takes out some rather by-the-side grudges against old men with pony-tails, yuppies who park in disabled parking spaces, and abusive mothers - when he takes a breather from shooting, of course. Had a film any more serious attempted something that so flagrantly (and unnecessarily) espouses the screenwriter's own views, I probably would have turned my nose up in disgust, but Davis gets away with it.
As refreshing as it is to see Owen retain his British accent in a Hollywood picture, and for all of his witty one-liners, the true joy of Shoot 'Em Up is Paul Giamatti's performance as the insanely eccentric, wildly demented villain. He both looks, and acts ridiculous, throwing tempter tantrums at his henchmen as they continually fail to kill Smith, and moreover, laying claim to more quirks than any other villain you'll see in 2007. It's a curious turn for Giamatti, but he makes the role his own, and provides some of the bigger laughs of the film - his line "Do we really suck? Or is he really that good?" is crowd-pleasing of the highest order.
My real indifference in relation to the cast lies with Monica Bellucci, who appears to be eye candy and not much else. I did attempt to rationalise that she simply wasn't given compelling dialogue, and whilst that's largely true, it failed to quiet my dislike for her performance. I loved her in Irreversible and found her at least passable in The Matrix sequels, but there's little spark here - she has a mild chemistry with Owen, but exists largely to titillate and give him someone to bounce dialogue off.
One cannot forget who is perhaps the real star of the show - the baby. His scenes range from the downright preposterous, where Mr. Smith engages in gunfights and dives through windows with him in tow, to the amusingly inventive, such as Donna buying him a bullet-proof vest, proudly proclaiming that it's "a better investment than a crib". Also, I dare you not to crack even a slight smile as Clive Owen uses his sock as a beanie hat for Oliver - it's very funny, very cute, and dare I say, even a little sweet, and somehow, it makes the film seem as though it isn't gimmick-driven for a moment (not that this is such a bad thing in this case).
If Shoot 'Em Up steps foul at any instance, it has to be in the latter portion of the film, where (following the most ridiculous sex scene in the history of cinema) some crippled form of an explanation is given as to why Hertz is attempting to kill this baby. I didn't see any need to explain this, especially when the time spent doing this could have been spent doing something more worthwhile, like Smith killing more people with carrots, or Hertz providing us with more evidence that he is, in fact, certifiably insane. Fortunately, the rotten excuse for a plot isn't dwelled on in any great detail, and it's not too long before Smith finds himself darting around with all guns blazing once again.
Shoot 'Em Up has been given the moniker of "this year's Crank", and with good reason too, and no more apparent than in the film's air-borne finale, which is both as CGI-slapped and implausible as the final sequence of Crank. Nonetheless, I enjoyed Crank, and I certainly enjoyed Shoot 'Em Up. The film is loud, violent, explicit, but most of all, fun. It asks no questions of its audience, and expects little in return other than for you to sit back and enjoy the slew of carnage that ensues. It's not high art, and doesn't pretend to be - it's a post-modern look at what might well have been considered a "serious" action film a few decades ago, to exaggerated effect, obviously. I expect that few will deem Shoot 'Em Up to be a disappointment, nor anything remotely close to Oscar-calibre either, but many will love its outlandishness and its irreverence, and moreover, it's a film best scene with as big an audience as you can muster.
Thanks for reading,
Reefer
I can nigh-on guarantee two things that will occur when you finish watching this film - you will want to break something, and you will want to eat a carrot, two things our protagonist does as much as possible in Shoot 'Em Up. Needless to say, the film's plot is expectedly rather ridiculous - Mr. Smith (Owen), a gun-totting, have-a-go-hero, saves a baby from certain slaughter by Hertz (Giamatti) and his seemingly innumerable fleet of armed henchmen, and spends the remaining 75 minutes of the film protecting that baby, with the help of a lactating prostitute, Donna (Bellucci).
From the first moment of the film, until the final, bloody frame, Shoot 'Em Up is tongue-in-cheek all the way - it unabashedly, relentlessly takes a concept that by all rights shouldn't be anything above B-movie standards, and makes fun of it, throwing a host of zany and idiosyncratic characters our way, along with a great deal of hyperactive gunplay that, by comparison, causes the action in The Matrix trilogy to seem realistic. If you're not gripped yet, well, the film also features Clive Owen's character murdering two henchmen with carrots. Yes, carrots.
Davis, if anything, has made a film with confidence - no more than two minutes into the film does the first explosive gunfight begin, with Mr. Smith skidding around in oil, and even helping to delivery a baby mid-battle. Davis could well have made us wait for our action, but he knows what his audience wants, and gives it to them in copious amounts, completely devoid of any shame whatsoever, and it's admirable, as had the action been any less over-the-top, one could almost dismiss this as a dumb action film, but he knows, and revels in the fact that it's ridiculous, and so we can laugh with Davis, rather than at him.
It is to this effect also that, rather than sigh, one is inspired to almost laugh as Smith takes out some rather by-the-side grudges against old men with pony-tails, yuppies who park in disabled parking spaces, and abusive mothers - when he takes a breather from shooting, of course. Had a film any more serious attempted something that so flagrantly (and unnecessarily) espouses the screenwriter's own views, I probably would have turned my nose up in disgust, but Davis gets away with it.
As refreshing as it is to see Owen retain his British accent in a Hollywood picture, and for all of his witty one-liners, the true joy of Shoot 'Em Up is Paul Giamatti's performance as the insanely eccentric, wildly demented villain. He both looks, and acts ridiculous, throwing tempter tantrums at his henchmen as they continually fail to kill Smith, and moreover, laying claim to more quirks than any other villain you'll see in 2007. It's a curious turn for Giamatti, but he makes the role his own, and provides some of the bigger laughs of the film - his line "Do we really suck? Or is he really that good?" is crowd-pleasing of the highest order.
My real indifference in relation to the cast lies with Monica Bellucci, who appears to be eye candy and not much else. I did attempt to rationalise that she simply wasn't given compelling dialogue, and whilst that's largely true, it failed to quiet my dislike for her performance. I loved her in Irreversible and found her at least passable in The Matrix sequels, but there's little spark here - she has a mild chemistry with Owen, but exists largely to titillate and give him someone to bounce dialogue off.
One cannot forget who is perhaps the real star of the show - the baby. His scenes range from the downright preposterous, where Mr. Smith engages in gunfights and dives through windows with him in tow, to the amusingly inventive, such as Donna buying him a bullet-proof vest, proudly proclaiming that it's "a better investment than a crib". Also, I dare you not to crack even a slight smile as Clive Owen uses his sock as a beanie hat for Oliver - it's very funny, very cute, and dare I say, even a little sweet, and somehow, it makes the film seem as though it isn't gimmick-driven for a moment (not that this is such a bad thing in this case).
If Shoot 'Em Up steps foul at any instance, it has to be in the latter portion of the film, where (following the most ridiculous sex scene in the history of cinema) some crippled form of an explanation is given as to why Hertz is attempting to kill this baby. I didn't see any need to explain this, especially when the time spent doing this could have been spent doing something more worthwhile, like Smith killing more people with carrots, or Hertz providing us with more evidence that he is, in fact, certifiably insane. Fortunately, the rotten excuse for a plot isn't dwelled on in any great detail, and it's not too long before Smith finds himself darting around with all guns blazing once again.
Shoot 'Em Up has been given the moniker of "this year's Crank", and with good reason too, and no more apparent than in the film's air-borne finale, which is both as CGI-slapped and implausible as the final sequence of Crank. Nonetheless, I enjoyed Crank, and I certainly enjoyed Shoot 'Em Up. The film is loud, violent, explicit, but most of all, fun. It asks no questions of its audience, and expects little in return other than for you to sit back and enjoy the slew of carnage that ensues. It's not high art, and doesn't pretend to be - it's a post-modern look at what might well have been considered a "serious" action film a few decades ago, to exaggerated effect, obviously. I expect that few will deem Shoot 'Em Up to be a disappointment, nor anything remotely close to Oscar-calibre either, but many will love its outlandishness and its irreverence, and moreover, it's a film best scene with as big an audience as you can muster.
Thanks for reading,
Reefer
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What is most evident about Michael Davis' 86-minute shot-of-adrenaline, aptly titled "Shoot 'Em Up", is that it does exactly as it advertises - the film, with as much sex, violence and foul language as Davis was able to cram into the running time, lands mere steps away from some of the overly outlandish fare from Looney Tunes cartoons. Moreover, as the bodies begin to form a rather sizable pile, the film can't be too far a cry from a cinematic version of a shoot-'em-up game you might find on your PlayStation or X-Box.
I can nigh-on guarantee two things that will occur when you finish watching this film - you will want to break something, and you will want to eat a carrot, two things our protagonist does as much as possible in Shoot 'Em Up. Needless to say, the film's plot is expectedly rather ridiculous - Mr. Smith (Owen), a gun-totting, have-a-go-hero, saves a baby from certain slaughter by Hertz (Giamatti) and his seemingly innumerable fleet of armed henchmen, and spends the remaining 75 minutes of the film protecting that baby, with the help of a lactating prostitute, Donna (Bellucci).
From the first moment of the film, until the final, bloody frame, Shoot 'Em Up is tongue-in-cheek all the way - it unabashedly, relentlessly takes a concept that by all rights shouldn't be anything above B-movie standards, and makes fun of it, throwing a host of zany and idiosyncratic characters our way, along with a great deal of hyperactive gunplay that, by comparison, causes the action in The Matrix trilogy to seem realistic. If you're not gripped yet, well, the film also features Clive Owen's character murdering two henchmen with carrots. Yes, carrots.
Davis, if anything, has made a film with confidence - no more than two minutes into the film does the first explosive gunfight begin, with Mr. Smith skidding around in oil, and even helping to delivery a baby mid-battle. Davis could well have made us wait for our action, but he knows what his audience wants, and gives it to them in copious amounts, completely devoid of any shame whatsoever, and it's admirable, as had the action been any less over-the-top, one could almost dismiss this as a dumb action film, but he knows, and revels in the fact that it's ridiculous, and so we can laugh with Davis, rather than at him.
It is to this effect also that, rather than sigh, one is inspired to almost laugh as Smith takes out some rather by-the-side grudges against old men with pony-tails, yuppies who park in disabled parking spaces, and abusive mothers - when he takes a breather from shooting, of course. Had a film any more serious attempted something that so flagrantly (and unnecessarily) espouses the screenwriter's own views, I probably would have turned my nose up in disgust, but Davis gets away with it.
As refreshing as it is to see Owen retain his British accent in a Hollywood picture, and for all of his witty one-liners, the true joy of Shoot 'Em Up is Paul Giamatti's performance as the insanely eccentric, wildly demented villain. He both looks, and acts ridiculous, throwing tempter tantrums at his henchmen as they continually fail to kill Smith, and moreover, laying claim to more quirks than any other villain you'll see in 2007. It's a curious turn for Giamatti, but he makes the role his own, and provides some of the bigger laughs of the film - his line "Do we really suck? Or is he really that good?" is crowd-pleasing of the highest order.
My real indifference in relation to the cast lies with Monica Bellucci, who appears to be eye candy and not much else. I did attempt to rationalise that she simply wasn't given compelling dialogue, and whilst that's largely true, it failed to quiet my dislike for her performance. I loved her in Irreversible and found her at least passable in The Matrix sequels, but there's little spark here - she has a mild chemistry with Owen, but exists largely to titillate and give him someone to bounce dialogue off.
One cannot forget who is perhaps the real star of the show - the baby. His scenes range from the downright preposterous, where Mr. Smith engages in gunfights and dives through windows with him in tow, to the amusingly inventive, such as Donna buying him a bullet-proof vest, proudly proclaiming that it's "a better investment than a crib". Also, I dare you not to crack even a slight smile as Clive Owen uses his sock as a beanie hat for Oliver - it's very funny, very cute, and dare I say, even a little sweet, and somehow, it makes the film seem as though it isn't gimmick-driven for a moment (not that this is such a bad thing in this case).
If Shoot 'Em Up steps foul at any instance, it has to be in the latter portion of the film, where (following the most ridiculous sex scene in the history of cinema) some crippled form of an explanation is given as to why Hertz is attempting to kill this baby. I didn't see any need to explain this, especially when the time spent doing this could have been spent doing something more worthwhile, like Smith killing more people with carrots, or Hertz providing us with more evidence that he is, in fact, certifiably insane. Fortunately, the rotten excuse for a plot isn't dwelled on in any great detail, and it's not too long before Smith finds himself darting around with all guns blazing once again.
Shoot 'Em Up has been given the moniker of "this year's Crank", and with good reason too, and no more apparent than in the film's air-borne finale, which is both as CGI-slapped and implausible as the final sequence of Crank. Nonetheless, I enjoyed Crank, and I certainly enjoyed Shoot 'Em Up. The film is loud, violent, explicit, but most of all, fun. It asks no questions of its audience, and expects little in return other than for you to sit back and enjoy the slew of carnage that ensues. It's not high art, and doesn't pretend to be - it's a post-modern look at what might well have been considered a "serious" action film a few decades ago, to exaggerated effect, obviously. I expect that few will deem Shoot 'Em Up to be a disappointment, nor anything remotely close to Oscar-calibre either, but many will love its outlandishness and its irreverence, and moreover, it's a film best scene with as big an audience as you can muster.
Thanks for reading,
Reefer
I can nigh-on guarantee two things that will occur when you finish watching this film - you will want to break something, and you will want to eat a carrot, two things our protagonist does as much as possible in Shoot 'Em Up. Needless to say, the film's plot is expectedly rather ridiculous - Mr. Smith (Owen), a gun-totting, have-a-go-hero, saves a baby from certain slaughter by Hertz (Giamatti) and his seemingly innumerable fleet of armed henchmen, and spends the remaining 75 minutes of the film protecting that baby, with the help of a lactating prostitute, Donna (Bellucci).
From the first moment of the film, until the final, bloody frame, Shoot 'Em Up is tongue-in-cheek all the way - it unabashedly, relentlessly takes a concept that by all rights shouldn't be anything above B-movie standards, and makes fun of it, throwing a host of zany and idiosyncratic characters our way, along with a great deal of hyperactive gunplay that, by comparison, causes the action in The Matrix trilogy to seem realistic. If you're not gripped yet, well, the film also features Clive Owen's character murdering two henchmen with carrots. Yes, carrots.
Davis, if anything, has made a film with confidence - no more than two minutes into the film does the first explosive gunfight begin, with Mr. Smith skidding around in oil, and even helping to delivery a baby mid-battle. Davis could well have made us wait for our action, but he knows what his audience wants, and gives it to them in copious amounts, completely devoid of any shame whatsoever, and it's admirable, as had the action been any less over-the-top, one could almost dismiss this as a dumb action film, but he knows, and revels in the fact that it's ridiculous, and so we can laugh with Davis, rather than at him.
It is to this effect also that, rather than sigh, one is inspired to almost laugh as Smith takes out some rather by-the-side grudges against old men with pony-tails, yuppies who park in disabled parking spaces, and abusive mothers - when he takes a breather from shooting, of course. Had a film any more serious attempted something that so flagrantly (and unnecessarily) espouses the screenwriter's own views, I probably would have turned my nose up in disgust, but Davis gets away with it.
As refreshing as it is to see Owen retain his British accent in a Hollywood picture, and for all of his witty one-liners, the true joy of Shoot 'Em Up is Paul Giamatti's performance as the insanely eccentric, wildly demented villain. He both looks, and acts ridiculous, throwing tempter tantrums at his henchmen as they continually fail to kill Smith, and moreover, laying claim to more quirks than any other villain you'll see in 2007. It's a curious turn for Giamatti, but he makes the role his own, and provides some of the bigger laughs of the film - his line "Do we really suck? Or is he really that good?" is crowd-pleasing of the highest order.
My real indifference in relation to the cast lies with Monica Bellucci, who appears to be eye candy and not much else. I did attempt to rationalise that she simply wasn't given compelling dialogue, and whilst that's largely true, it failed to quiet my dislike for her performance. I loved her in Irreversible and found her at least passable in The Matrix sequels, but there's little spark here - she has a mild chemistry with Owen, but exists largely to titillate and give him someone to bounce dialogue off.
One cannot forget who is perhaps the real star of the show - the baby. His scenes range from the downright preposterous, where Mr. Smith engages in gunfights and dives through windows with him in tow, to the amusingly inventive, such as Donna buying him a bullet-proof vest, proudly proclaiming that it's "a better investment than a crib". Also, I dare you not to crack even a slight smile as Clive Owen uses his sock as a beanie hat for Oliver - it's very funny, very cute, and dare I say, even a little sweet, and somehow, it makes the film seem as though it isn't gimmick-driven for a moment (not that this is such a bad thing in this case).
If Shoot 'Em Up steps foul at any instance, it has to be in the latter portion of the film, where (following the most ridiculous sex scene in the history of cinema) some crippled form of an explanation is given as to why Hertz is attempting to kill this baby. I didn't see any need to explain this, especially when the time spent doing this could have been spent doing something more worthwhile, like Smith killing more people with carrots, or Hertz providing us with more evidence that he is, in fact, certifiably insane. Fortunately, the rotten excuse for a plot isn't dwelled on in any great detail, and it's not too long before Smith finds himself darting around with all guns blazing once again.
Shoot 'Em Up has been given the moniker of "this year's Crank", and with good reason too, and no more apparent than in the film's air-borne finale, which is both as CGI-slapped and implausible as the final sequence of Crank. Nonetheless, I enjoyed Crank, and I certainly enjoyed Shoot 'Em Up. The film is loud, violent, explicit, but most of all, fun. It asks no questions of its audience, and expects little in return other than for you to sit back and enjoy the slew of carnage that ensues. It's not high art, and doesn't pretend to be - it's a post-modern look at what might well have been considered a "serious" action film a few decades ago, to exaggerated effect, obviously. I expect that few will deem Shoot 'Em Up to be a disappointment, nor anything remotely close to Oscar-calibre either, but many will love its outlandishness and its irreverence, and moreover, it's a film best scene with as big an audience as you can muster.
Thanks for reading,
Reefer