Shoot Em' Up Review

Every once and a while, you just want to see a movie that doesn't bullshit around and just entertains you for an hour and a half. You want the kind of movie you can start from almost anywhere, and still manage to find enjoyment from it. The creators of "Shoot Em' Up" know what you want, shove it down your throat until you've had enough, and then decide to throw in some more for good measure. That's this movie in a nutshell. It knows it's audience from the get-go, and doesn't make any apologies for what it delivers. Best of all, it wastes absolutely no time in starting off the story. Our "hero" jumps into the action from the very beginning and it never really lets up from there. No backstory, no real introductions, no monologue, just action from square one. "Mr. Smith" (Clive Owen), as he's known, rescues a pregnant woman who's about to have a baby, and then has to protect the baby from an endlessly large group of bad guys led by Paul Giamatti. Think of it like a remake of "Children of Men", minus the futuristic angle and meaningful dialogue.

Let's get one thing straight: this movie is going for over-the-top ridiculous action and violence, and not much more. It's just short of parody. If this doesn't sound appealing to you, and you enjoy your action with melodrama and/or Nicolas Cage spouting off crappy one-liners, then this movie isn't for you.

Let's just say that watching this, it's now my belief that when Clive Owen was born, he must've strangled the doctor with his own umbilical cord and knocked-up any nearby nurses instantly. That's how bad-ass he is. He showed it somewhat in Sin City, and his character here is essentially the same times twenty.

Paul Giamatti is also fantastic as the maniac assassin who's after Mr. Smith. It's an interesting turn for Giamatti, who normally plays the character who wets themselves at the sight of a gun.

There's plenty of creative gunfights and comedic elements to keep you satisfied. If you enjoyed the A.D.D. inducing spectacle that was last years "Crank", then you'll have a mighty fine time with "Shoot Em' Up".