Movie Review: Shoot ’Em Up (2007)

Shoot ’Em Up is a live-action cartoon, and that’s established really early on in an over-the-top action scene.

Thankfully, the action is very well done. It’s not entirely unique. Its style is very similar to like a John Woo film in how over-the-top it gets, but the movie never takes itself too seriously, and the entire picture has a wry sense of humor.

The three leads — Clive Owen as a mysterious heroic stranger, Paul Giamatti as a crimelord, and Monica Bellucci as a prostitute — are all very entertaining. It’s definitely hard to take your eyes off of Paul Giamatti when he’s onscreen, and of course Monica Bellucci for obvious reasons.

The plot is never all that important; it’s just an excuse to get from action setpiece to action setpiece, but in that way, it completely works.

I mean, Clive Owen kills a guy with a carrot.

There is one action scene that’s pretty great in theory, but the execution isn’t really there. There’s a shootout after a bunch of people jump out of a plane, and unfortunately the CGI effects don’t look good. At least it still has some clever moments, I guess.

The movie never asks you to believe anything, and instead only asks that you be entertained. I was.

Rating: 7/10