My last review of the year is the incredibly fun action comedy Shoot 'Em Up. A movie that I wrote off earlier in the year just simply because the movie's title was quite frankly shit! The adverts, and the all present bus stop billboard notices burned a hole in your brain, and made this a no go area for me.
It was during the festive period that for whatever reason (I can't quite remember) I decided to put the DVD in my player. It took about 45 seconds into the actual story (intro's and credits not included) for me to be fixated by this story. I was thrilled, I was amused, but in honesty the plot is so thin that I can't really remember what it's all about, or maybe I never cared.
Smith (Clive Owen) is minding his own on a bench in one of the rougher districts of New York, not the typical tough guy Smith is chewing on carrots and dip. When a woman runs past in an incredibly advanced state of labour, he pays it a little attention before seemingly ignoring it. But the events a few seconds later
awaken his mind; a man walks past screaming that he is going to kill the woman, and shortly later brandishes a pistol. It seems this sort of behaviour cannot be tolerated and Smith springs to life and pursues the man despatching him with his most deadly weapon... A carrot. From this moment on Smith finds himself dead centre of gang warfare, the target the woman and for a few minutes the unborn child.
Rather amusingly having now armed himself with a gun Smith delivers the baby while heavily involved in a fire fight. Mixing the action and the humour with equal parts Shoot 'Em Up starts as it means to go on, never once allowing the action to cease or the humour to decline during the movies entire duration. Shoot 'Em Up is 86 minutes of completely dreamy film making for an action or comedy fan, because does not transcend into a boring or monotonous scene, character introductions are generally done during the action. Even the movies sex scene is intermingled with action shots, and clever camerawork.
Shoot 'Em Up's director Michael Davis was obviously a big fan of the A-Team, littering the movie with strange traps, and out of the ordinary weaponry. One of the most notable examples of this takes place about an hour in where Smith takes out a seemingly endless array of soldiers with a variety of guns, without actually firing one bullet with his hands. These aspects are familiar throughout the entire movie, it seems like no death or action does not have a double use.
If you're familiar with the Babycart series or the mash up of three movies from the series Shogun Assassin, you cannot help but draw comparisons to some degree here, although unlike the Babycart movies, the baby here pulls no weapons and is responsible for none of the movies incredibly high body count.
Clive Owen proves to my joy that he really should have been the new James Bond, turning the action hero role into an art form. For an edgy type of character Owen's character remains likeable during the movies entire duration, and thank God for that. Nobody getsanywhere near holding a candle to Owen's performance even equal co star Paul Giamatti (the current toast of Hollywood). Irreversible actress Monica Bellucci offers a brilliant but slightly grubby looking female lead. With three different children starring as Baby Oliver the focus for the movie.
On to the criticism and its slight, firstly the stories plot is microscopic but with so much humour and action it would only take second place anyway. The other flaw from a production perspective is that the movie seems to suffer from colour drains, obviously designed to reduce the amount of blood which from a cinema perspective I understand in order for it to achieve (where possible) a lower certificate, but for DVD releases the certificate does not matter, so it's sad that we were not given back the blood. But with these minor critiques surely this makes Shoot 'Em Up a winner, and certainly a movie that does not suffer from repeat viewing, I have watched it twice in a week.
Sadly the movies first incarnation on DVD due for release on the 21st of January 2008 does not have any special features, neither does the Blue Ray or HD versions released the same day. But an extended version is on the cards for early April, which includes camera angles, interactive options, and numerous interviews and commentaries. My advice, if you're in a hurry to watch this rent it, but when it comes to buying hang tight to your money a little longer.
Spencer Hawken 12/07
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Advantages: Really delivers in the gunfights, Never slows down, Funny in Parts, Carrots, Smith's pet Hates Disadvantages: Weak Plot/Storyline, Too Much Action for Some
nollie99 05.02.2008 (05.02.2008)
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Review of Shoot 'Em Up (DVD)
Advantages: Really delivers in the gunfights, Never slows down, Funny in Parts, Carrots, Smith's pet Hates Disadvantages: Weak Plot/Storyline, Too Much Action for Some
nollie99 05.02.2008 (05.02.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Shoot 'Em Up (DVD)
Advantages: Perfect for the action junkie - a highly stupid movie with bags of cool. Disadvantages: Not enjoyable if you forget to switch your brain off!
clownfoot 05.01.2009 ·
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Review of Shoot 'EmUp (DVD)
Dec 31st, 2007
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