A gritty, fast-paced action thriller, Shoot 'Em Up kicks into high gear with a memorable opening scene and never relents. Clive Owen stars as Mr. Smith, a mysterious loner who teams up with an unlikely ally (Monica Bellucci) to protect a newborn baby from a determined criminal (Paul Giamatti) who hunts them throughout the bowels of the city. -Official Site

First question – Were you disappointed in Smokin' Aces? Second question – Did you like Crank? If you answered yes to both questions, then Shoot 'Em Up is the movie for you. Filled to the brim with an unbelievable amount of action and bad one liners, Shoot 'Em Up takes the best elements of both and combines them in a way that should be the template for all mindless action flicks from here on out. Michael Davis has created an almost perfect action movie. So perfect, in fact, that when screened without a lot of the bad one liners, audiences took the film too seriously. So the one liners were put back in just to lighten the movie, even if it is with groans instead of laughs.

Clive Owen does a superb job as the right guy at the wrong place and time. He has a hardness that works well in films like Sin City and Shoot 'Em Up while still showing a (slightly) softer side as in Children Of Men. He combines both along with an ingenuity as well as a dash of humor in his portrayal of “Mr. Smith”. This is the guy you want as a babysitter, but only if there is a squad of hitmen led by Paul Giamatti after you. Mr. Giamatti should come off as ridiculous in a role like this. I mean, he's Pig Vomit from Private Parts, but the man is one evil heartless son of a bitch and quashes any doubts within his first few minutes of screen time. Rounding out the cast is Monica Bellucci, who may be most recognizable as Persephone in the second and third Matrix sequels. Here she plays a lactating hooker Mr. Smith convinces to help him take care of the newborn while he goes and wreaks havoc amongst Giamatti's men. I'm not really sure what she really brings to the table here beyond being a giant milk bottle, but she doesn't detract from the overall effect.

Shoot 'Em Up is by far the most fun, if not the best action film of the year and I recommend it to action fans who just want to see some kick ass action with minimal character development, honestly. The action starts within the first two minutes! Extremely over the top, cliché, and with a chip on its shoulder the size of a log, Shoot 'Em Up delivers the action with tongue in cheek and fingers on the triggers.

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Mitch E.
mitch@comicbookbin.com