Film review: Shoot 'em Up

Tagline

No name, no past, nothing to lose.

plot

This hilarious action movie doesn’t really have a plot. It’s mostly about chasing people, shooting people, and lots of randomness. If you don’t like cliché’s like that, there’s no point in reading this review. The film opens with a man sitting on a bench at a bus station. An obviously pregnant lady runs by and is being chased by a man with a gun. Our bench guy jumps up and goes after them, killing the chaser with a carrot (yes, one of those orange vegetables) and delivers the baby. They keep getting shot at, and the woman dies. Our mystery man is called Smith and he’s not your average hero. For instance, he loves carrots, both for eating and as a murder weapon. He also hates ponytails and claims they don't make you look hip, young or cool. He gets chased by the bad guys who are after the baby, which he dumps at prostitute friend DQ. They soon are being chased again, and Mr. Smith keeps killing all of those who are after them during his search to find out why they want this baby to die so badly. This leaves the bad guys incredibly frustrated. Random facts: the baby calms down while listening to heavy metal. Total body count: 106.

Acting

Clive Owen is Mr. Smith, a sarcastic and clever guy who just happens to find himself in the middle of a gunfight. He delivers hilarious one-liners while keeping a straight face, which makes it even more funny. Paul Giamatti plays Hertz, main badguy who has a sick sexual obsession, especially towards dead women. Like Owen, Giamatti has the perfect poker face to play a maniacal villain. Monica Bellucci is the sensual prostitute who helps Mr. Smith take care of the kid and find out why every hitman in the area is after it.

Verdict: This is the definition of action. It’s fast, it’s fun, lots of people die and it has a satisfying ending. With unexpected hooks and sarcastic one liners. Though critics think very differently about this one, I say it’s definitely one to watch!

Imre