2008 Woodie Awards
'Shoot 'em Up' :
A double-barreled popcorn movie
Alan Sharp
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
Let me say right off the bat that the plot and storyline of the new action film, "Shoot 'Em Up" are so thin, they make Nicole Ritchie jealous. The script and directing by the relatively unknown Michael Davis makes not even the slightest attempt at basing this story in anything that remotely resembles reality.
That being said, this was my favorite movie of 2007 since "300." This is the purest fun-filled, adrenaline-fueled, action-for-the-sake-of-action movie since the first "Transporter" film in 2002.
Davis mixes elements of "Sin City," the best John Woo bullet ballets from the 1980s and the slickest anime action-fests with black humor and a story reminiscent of old B-movie westerns about a gunslinger reluctantly saving the damsel in distress.
Clive Owen's ("Sin City," "Inside Man") Mr. Smith moves with quick decisiveness and slick resourcefulness in using everything in his immediate vicinity to help him even the odds in the face of being ridiculously outnumbered. He's like Jackie Chan if you replaced the kung fu skills with a pair of pistols.
The film starts in overdrive and rarely lets off the throttle. The story, as it were, about a baby-making factory to save a dying senator (insert laughter here), is mainly just a string to bridge spectacular gunfights together. The movie clocks in at a Disney animation-esque 80 minutes, and a good 70 of that is pure action.
Paul Giamatti ("American Splendor," "Private Parts") is obviously having a blast as the demented, yet henpecked assassin Hertz. Monica Bellucci ("The World is Not Enough," the "Matrix" films) is also solid here as the good old "hooker with a heart of gold" Donna who aids Clive Owen in his adventures.
As long as you can keep an open mind and not go in expecting "Citizen Kane"-level drama, you can have a lot of fun watching this film. It is a perfect Popcorn Movie
That being said, this was my favorite movie of 2007 since "300." This is the purest fun-filled, adrenaline-fueled, action-for-the-sake-of-action movie since the first "Transporter" film in 2002.
Davis mixes elements of "Sin City," the best John Woo bullet ballets from the 1980s and the slickest anime action-fests with black humor and a story reminiscent of old B-movie westerns about a gunslinger reluctantly saving the damsel in distress.
Clive Owen's ("Sin City," "Inside Man") Mr. Smith moves with quick decisiveness and slick resourcefulness in using everything in his immediate vicinity to help him even the odds in the face of being ridiculously outnumbered. He's like Jackie Chan if you replaced the kung fu skills with a pair of pistols.
The film starts in overdrive and rarely lets off the throttle. The story, as it were, about a baby-making factory to save a dying senator (insert laughter here), is mainly just a string to bridge spectacular gunfights together. The movie clocks in at a Disney animation-esque 80 minutes, and a good 70 of that is pure action.
Paul Giamatti ("American Splendor," "Private Parts") is obviously having a blast as the demented, yet henpecked assassin Hertz. Monica Bellucci ("The World is Not Enough," the "Matrix" films) is also solid here as the good old "hooker with a heart of gold" Donna who aids Clive Owen in his adventures.
As long as you can keep an open mind and not go in expecting "Citizen Kane"-level drama, you can have a lot of fun watching this film. It is a perfect Popcorn Movie
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