Shoot 'Em Up is a Bullseye

Writer/director Michael Davis takes Shoot ‘Em Up so far over the line, halfway through the movie I’m picturing one of the actors asking Davis, “do you think we’ve gone too far?” only to be answered, “No, I think we haven’t gone far enough.”
Shoot ‘Em Up is Michael Davis’ no-holds-barred, trigger-happy, wise-cracking action funfest. He’s made fun of horror with Monster Man and the teen love story with Eight Days a Week. Now he turns the tables on the action genre.
The plot is simple. Mr. Smith (played by Children of Men star Clive Owen) is sitting on a bench, munching on a carrot when a pregnant woman runs by, chased by a thug intent on killing her. Mr. Smith rolls his eyes, says “bloody hell,” chases after them, shoves the carrot down the thug’s throat and through the back of his skull, before telling him “eat your vegetables.” What follows is a birthing scene, where Smith plays midwife during a shootout, which goes along the lines of push-push, bang-bang, wah-wah. Mr. Smith and the baby run out with family-man professional killer Mr. Hertz (Sideways’ Paul Giamatti) chasing after them. Monica Bellucci plays DQ, the lactating hooker Smith brings along to feed the baby. DQ is short for Donna Quintano, but is probably more of a reference to Dairy Queen. Mr. Smith and a lactating hooker lead to a sex-scene shootout, which goes bang-bang… well, bang-bang-bang-bang.
There’s enough plot for Mr. Smith to have a decent reason to run everywhere from street chases to jumping out of airplanes, half the time carrying around the baby. The plot has something to do with the 2nd Amendment, a presidential candidate, and a gun company. The 2nd Amendment morals being brought up is either a lesson or a joke, but as the plot is just an excuse to have quiet, funny moments between shoot-outs, it provides more than we ask for in an action movie as it’s the shoot-outs that keep us watching.
Mr. Smith, who we never fully know the history behind, kills waves after waves of bad guys, taking the usual movie rule of bad-guys-miss-and-good-guys-don’t to another level, to the point of being downright humorous. He flies through windshields (wise-cracking about seatbelts), slides across floors, swings from ropes, and jumps out of a plane without a parachute, using everything as a weapon from carrots (bugs bunny jokes), bathroom hand dryers, guns (even though Smith doesn’t own one), bullets (without guns), diapers, his own blood, and the most interesting method of taking a knife away from someone. Maybe Clive Owen was trying to prove something if someone told him he didn’t have enough action to be the next Bond, but there’s no such thing as over-compensating in this movie.
Paul Giamatti’s role is simple, and his bloodthirsty smile in between being annoyed by Mr. Smith’s survival is enough to make him creepy and cold-hearted of a villain. He has one line which best describes his character's style: "Guns don't kill people, but they certainly do help."
Is the movie entertaining? If you laughed when Smith tells thugs to eat their carrots, you’ll laugh your way through every shoot-out and line of dialogue. Most popcorn flicks are cheesy and cheap, not giving a care if you really find their wise-cracks funny or not. If Shoot ‘Em Up’s jokes are cheesy, it’s gold cheese. I have not found genre-bending humor this funny since Bruce Campbell lost his hand in Evil Dead 2. It’s noticeable they avoided doing the same trick twice, keeping every joke fresh and keeping them coming.
Is it for everyone? Carrot kills will probably send more than a few people back to the box office, asking if they can exchange their tickets to something else. I’m sure the line “I’m a British nanny, and I’m dangerous” will get repeated like some of Quentin Tarantino’s lines that’s always found funny by fans everywhere. DVD sales will be good as news of the humor hits the young and wild crowd. This has a place in cult hit status, as one of the love-it-or-hate-it movies.
Is it memorable? Popcorn films come and go, but Shoot may change the name of the genre from gun-flicks to Shoot ‘Em Up flicks as movies in the future will try to surpass the action and humor. This movie aims to raise the bar by lowering standards and
My suggestions? If you and the guys want to have fun watching people shoot each other, it’s worth the drive and ticket price. It is cheesy, popcorn flick fun at its finest. I intend to buy it on DVD, as it will be one of those to share with friends between beers.
I approve this movie.