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Shoot ‘Em Up (2007) New Line Cinema 1 hr 37 mins Starring: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci, Greg Bryk, Ramona Pringle, Jane McLean, Chris Jericho, Jay Reso, Stephen McHattie, Daniell Pilon Directed by: Michael Davis This film is rated: R Shoot 'Em Up Rating:  
E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG Writer/director Michael Davis is gleefully at the helm as he concocts an outrageously impish (if not unconventional) boisterous anti-gun action-thriller that embraces its preposterous presentation. In the testosterone-driven live action “cartoon” Shoot ‘Em Up, Davis swings for the frenetic fences as his convoluted comic-crime caper regarding ricocheting bullets and other manic mayhem packs a wincing wallop. Clearly, Shoot ‘Em Up is an outlandish and sardonic satire that examines the arbitrary and warped fascination with over-extended, animated gun-toting violence. This trashy tale of kinetic kookiness serves as an intentionally overwrought wink to a “shoot first and ask questions later” movie-sponsored mentality that ironically spotlights the glamorous gumption of gunfire as a pacifying piece of soothing escapism. Ironically, Davis ensures that his vibrant video game of fuel-injected foolishness somehow contain a lyrical landscape for lunacy and the hyped-up Shoot ‘Em Up guns (excuse the pun) for some jolting off-kilter kicks. Armed with revolting and revved-up anecdotes of weapon-wielding whimsy, Davis has produced a kind of jittery junk cinema resonating with a sense of reckless gun-powdery passion. The method to the madness behind Shoot ‘Em Up is etched in stone from a surreal popcorn perspective drenched in cynicism and silliness. One shouldn’t go into the mindless zone that is Shoot ‘Em Up and expect to keep their prudish pride in tact. This frantic fable that manages to throw everything and anything in its perverse path (vulnerable babies, streetwalkers, nuns, male-craving fetishes, etc.) is oddly imaginative and instrumental in its bid for being an explosive cocktail of scandalous wackiness. Shoot ‘Em Up may not have the disturbing edginess and calculating camp that was featured in the delightfully furious Grindhouse released months earlier but it is nevertheless refreshingly subversive in its own skin. Protagonist Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) is a carrot-munching, wise-cracking expert gunman with a chip on his shoulder. Somehow, the mysterious Mr. Smith earns some redeemable points when he challenges a bunch of hard-nosed hitmen as they look to eradicate a pregnant woman (Ramona Pringle). These heartless scoundrels, led by the despicable but strangely dashing Hertz (Paul Giamatti), are chasing this poor woman about to experience labor when Mr. Smith manages to skillfully dispose most of these thugs while miraculously delivering the dead woman’s baby. As if Mr. Smith isn’t burdened enough he now has the responsibility of watching over this newborn baby boy. Before Mr. Smith assumes his unexpected duties as Mr. Mom, he has a back-up plan of sorts. He recruits his prostitute girlfriend DQ (Monica Bellucci) to help take care of the infant. After all, her talent for being a lactating hooker will come in handy for the kid—it certainly does wonders for her crude clientele that appreciates her “skill” when they visit her in the brothel where her co-workers are forced to don nuns habits as an enticing turn-on. Go figure. In any event, both Mr. Smith and DQ are the unlikeliest of surrogate parents this side of the Mississippi River. Now Mr. Smith has an obligation to find out why this particular child is considered something of interest to the vermin that seek out the youngster in devastating fashion. After all, Hertz and his conniving crew won’t stop until Mr. Smith relinquishes this troubled tyke. Of course this involves a steady diet of our handgun-worshiping hero knocking off the potential attackers at the various moments of strife-driven impulses. Whether making love to DQ at the most inconvenient times or engaging in some other offbeat confrontation, Mr. Smith has the resourceful tenacity to protect the welfare of the child and eliminate the riff raffish element that persists on making his livelihood a living hell. Can the diabolical Hertz and his henchmen solve the obstacle that is the pesky bulletproof Mr. Smith? Will the baby remain secure or will there be some serious payback should the imperiled tot come within the grips of these sadistic souls? Better yet, will DQ’s brothel-visiting patrons be jealous because the endangered baby is getting more intimate closeness with her leaky breasts than they are at this point? After all, they do PAY for the privilege pertaining to their flaky fixations, right? In short, Shoot ‘Em Up is nothing more than loony light-hearted fun although the heavy-handed risky overtones doesn’t exactly make this a Doris Day double feature. Davis delivers the right amount of surging wit and provocative pithiness to justify the abundant body count and other irreverent indulgences that make this pinball machine-of-a-picture seem devilishly demonstrative. The side subplots sometimes get in the way of the inspired debauchery (such as a pro-gun politician with an undefined agenda or the exploitation of babies and bone-marrow research). Still, the obviousness of the protruding spirit of Shoot ‘Em Up is essentially a recipe for pure offbeat excitement and lowbrow titillation. Owen brings a high-intensity and stoic believability as the masterful marksman spearheading this tumultuous tongue-in-cheek spectacle. Owen, no stranger to blood-soaked flicks high in corrosive caliber such as his turn in Sin City, effortlessly handles the mischievous leading duties with noted aplomb. Giamatti, always the inventive put-upon sad sack, brings a robust naughtiness to the role of the dastardly Hertz. Bellucci is a siren that sizzles within the boundaries of this “boys-will-be-boys” target practice piece. Overall, Shoot ‘Em Up shouldn’t apologize for its delirious display of implausibility or ludicrous stimulation. It’s feisty, attention-getting and could wiggle in its potential cult-status mode for those that appreciate the ultimate celluloid cliche: taking down the bad guys at all costs. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Frank Ochieng © TheWorldJournal.com |
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