Shoot 'Em Up
Rated: R
Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Directed by: Michael Davis
Starring:
Clive Owen - Mr. Smith
Monica Bellucci - DQ
Paul Giamatti - Mr. Hertz
I’ve been telling people that if they liked last year’s Crank, they’ll like Shoot ‘Em Up. I tell them even when I'm not prompted, but this random approach is worthy of a film like Shoot ‘Em Up which is a searing blast of iconoclasm through the genre of its namesake. The rules are simple: smack the hell out of anything PC and in good taste in an attempt to be the posterchild for the decline of western civilization. I’m curious to see who enevitibly outdoes Shoot ‘Em Up next year.
The plot is an excuse for the action but I’ll be brief: Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) is minding his own business, eating his beloved carrots (surprisingly, not slang), when he crosses paths with a pregnant woman running for her life. After delivering the baby during a shootout, the mother dies but the baby lives and now Mr. Smith is stuck with a child he must protect because he’s not a monster and a he’s a very good shot. Teaming up with a lactating hooker (Monica Belluci) because someone has to feed the kid, the two try to outrun a necrophiliac hit/family-man (Paul Giamatti). Since Shoot ‘Em Up is 100% style, the film really just comes down to piling on the insanity and ramping up the action so that each scene satiaties the greater bloodlust generated from the scene before.
Clocking in at a brisk 93 minutes, the movie barely escapes from creating a senes of “battle fatigure” and with some fun one-liners and a constant sense of irreverance, the movie is an absolute blast throughout. And yet Shoot ‘Em Up inhabits a bizarre middle-ground between adoration and snarling contempt for the genre. What makes the film feel fresh isn’t Smith’s carrot-chomping rather than chain-smoking, but writer/director Michael Davis’ Looney Toons fight choreography and confident, joyful direction.
Violence is crazy and it’s surprising that Hollywood took so long to realize that movies featuring violence need to be crazy too. You can discuss whether or not Shoot ‘Em Up is the evolution of the action film or a sign of its downfall after you see the movie but during the film, prepare to be blown away (provided you’re willing to get in on the action).
Words by
Matt Goldberg
8.16.07
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