Talk about a movie that lives up to its name! It’s time to turn off the old brain and pop the corn since this film presents a fantasy world where the bullets fly fast and furious as two men do battle over a baby and a lactating hooker with a heart of gold.
Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) is minding his own business sitting on a bench chomping on a carrot. A very pregnant woman comes running around the corner obviously being pursued by somebody. The punk swerves around the corner, tells Smith to mind his own business, and follows the gal down the alley.
Smith makes short work of the punk, but Mr. Hertz (Paul Giamatti) and his army of goons show up to try and whack the pregnant lady, who by this time has gone into labor. Smith delivers the tyke during a gunfight with the pursuers and even cuts the kids umbilical cord with a well placed bullet (if this doesn’t automatically enroll the kid into the N.R.A. then nothing will!).
Sadly, mom gets a bullet of her own during the melee and Smith takes the kid under his protection. Not having the equipment to nurse the child he goes to a hooker named Donna (Monica Belluci) who has a heart of gold but also has a pair of lactating mammaries since her clients like to belly up to the milk bar.
So now Smith must protect the kid, Donna, and keep them from the maniacal Hertz (who keeps fielding cell phone calls from his ole’ lady).
Its best not to even worry about the plot since this movie is more about constant gunfire and truth be told the plot’s not what the filmmakers have concentrated on. They’ve assembled some grand action set pieces to have dour Clive Owen (channeling Clint Eastwood) and wacky Paul Giamatti (going deliciously over-the-top) pound through. That being said the film is pure fun and reminded me of watching a videogame.
It’s best just to put your brain in the jar next to the easy chair and be dragged along as Smith tries to keep the baby safe and find out what the heck is going on (not that it matters mind you). I’ve never seen a carrot used as a lethal weapon so much in a movie.
Great fun if you let it take you along, but take it too seriously and you’ll probably hate it. It’s very simple – the good guys are good, bad guys are bad, and both have guns and always hit what they aim for – unless it’s each other because if they connected before the finale then the movie would be over.
Shoot ‘Em Up is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.
Special features include a commentary with director Michael Davis. Next are 8 minutes of deleted scenes with an optional commentary by Davis. The 52 minute “Ballet of Bullets” takes a look at the making of the film.
There’s also 22 minute of animatics (animated storyboards) of shots that Davis came up with, again with an optional commentary from him. Finally there are 3 trailers for the film and more extras if you put the disc in your DVD-ROM.
Shoot ‘Em Up is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is a delicious, butter-flavored bucket full of popcorn. Don’t think about it and just get carried along in bullet time and you should do fine.
Shoot ‘Em Up is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Jan. 21st release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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