Director Michael Davis knows action.
Having trouble selling his script about guns and the men who use them in clever ways, Davis drew over 17,000 frames himself, a 17-minute reel of line drawings to show studio executives. New Line Cinema saw the potential. Hell, Davis might as well have put a gun to their heads to get his point across, simply because "Shoot 'em Up" is one explosive gunfight after another, a visual shotgun blast to the brain via the retina and cornea.
Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) is a simple man who enjoys the simple things in life, namely munching on homegrown carrots and staring. In fact, that's how the movie opens...until a guy pulls a gun. Then, that guy is eating the carrot-as it sticks out the back of his head.
Smith tries to save the pregnant woman this man is after. After the woman is killed following the birth of her son (and you've never seen what a gunman does to cut the umbilical cord until now), Smith takes the infant under his wing to protect from the head guy after this woman, Mr. Hertz (Paul Giamatti).
Smith handles himself well against the 50 or so goons Hetz sends after him, but he still needs to ensure the safety of the child. So, he enlists the help of Mary "DQ" White (Monica Bellucci), a fetish prostitute who gives her clients plenty of what the baby needs-and its all lined up in baby bottles in her room.
Okay, so there's the basic plot, but, really, for a movie that prides itself on the insanely clever tricks and almost improbable ways to fire a gun, does the story really matter?
As rhetorical as it may seem, that question's answer is both yes and no. Yes, for the fact that the story is good enough to lend this action film credence. No, for the fact-oh, come on. Do I have to explain this one?
Davis has crafted a devilishly decadent peace of action noir that is part comic book movie, part pulp novel, part science fiction and part "Die Hard."
The wit and sarcasm delivered by the stone-faced Owen is every bit rooted in John McClaine yet distinctive enough to call the character his own. Known for deep emotional work like last year's "Inside Man" or his Oscar-nominated turn in "Closer," Owen walks into this film with smooth, calm sensibility, adding grace and humility every time the hammer on his gun slams down. His comedic timing is impeccable; Owen is an untapped comic genius with delivery dryer than a 15-year-old Slim Jim left in Death Valley.
Equally delightful is Paul Giamatti, who, like Owen, you wouldn't expect to be in a big bang-bang movie like this due to his impressive dramatic resume. But, hey, some actors have just got to cut loose and have some fun. And boy does he ever have fun in this movie, chewing up the scenery with his crazy laugh and manic intellect while pausing in between gun blasts to answer his worried, unassuming wife's phone call. Giamatti is every bit the ying to Owen's yang. The barbs these two throw back and forth is nothing short of spectacular. Plus, Bellucci is every bit the sensual actress she became so acclaimed for in Europe.
Both compelling and beautiful to look at, "Shoot 'em Up" is a delectable delight for the senses, firing off gunfight after gunfight, bullet by bullet, to pierce the Kevlar logic protecting us from a pure adrenaline-fueled thrill ride that goes from one big bang to the next.
And the clip never goes empty
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