Don't let the typographic atrocity on the posters put you off, Shoot 'em Up is a superb movie.
First things first. If you are squeamish or super-sensitive, this is not the movie for you. And if you restrict your movie-watching to films that 'mean something', this is definitely not for you. As a good friend remarked, you half-expect to have to wipe the blood off the screen after watching it.
This is an ironic, hyper-kinetic action comedy. From the opening scene, where Smith (Clive Owen) helps a pregnant woman (who is being chased by baddies) deliver her baby while shooting the bad guys (and the umbilical cord... yep, I said not for the super-sensitive), the pace never lets up.
The gorgeous prostitute Donna (Monica Belluci) is the person Smith picks to look after the baby (oh, yeah, the mother got shot).
Delightfully oleaginous gangster Hertz (Paul Giamatti) is relentless in his pursuit of the baby (you find out why later in the movie).
The dialog is witty in a self-consciously shallow style. The action scenes are impossible without being cringeworthy. It's not based on a graphic novel, but the storyboard could easily become one. Like a colour Sin City, with more jokes.
And for techy-nerds, the image and sound quality is superb on standard DVD, even better on Blu-ray.
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1 comment:
Watched this for the second time this week last night. Had to put it on again because we found somebody that hadn't seen it, and so far all agree; this is the greatest movie in the world. Takes Hollywood by the balls, and says "This is how you have a gun fight."
Loved the sheer gratuity of the film, too. A gun fight in a gun factory? What possible fail could come from such an idea?!
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