Shoot 'Em Up -movie review

There are moments in movie-making when you just get to see something that takes entertainment to the far corners of what it can be. A film that really refuses to be serious, demanding, or even realistic. A film that invigorates you with style, action and sexiness. A film that aspires to be nothing but an 80-minute rocking adventure that never stops. And this year that film is Shoot'em Up Shoot'Em Up is exactly what it says it is. The film runs for 82 minutes and fills every frame with a hail of bullets. Each scene endeavours to create more creative and elaborate gun fights. Gunfights in a factory. Gunfights in stairwells. Gunfights during a car chase. Gunfights while skydiving. Gunfights during a wicked hot sex scene. Gunfights without a gun! This may sound silly, redundant even, but if you can release your grasp on reality and enjoy the Looney Tunes hyperbole of it all then it is intensely satisfying.

The "story" follows a reluctant hero who ends up playing saviour to a newborn infant that is the target of assassins trying to cover-up a nasty T-cell breeding scheme. See? Craziness! But technically the film is impeccable. What could have been a B-flick yawn is a rock'n'roll-fueled rollercoster. The lighting and set design are inventive and effective. To be fair, the movie is MY kind of film as many of the technical elements were done by people who had worked on other films I enjoyed immensely (the editor from Blade 2, Out of Sight's production designer, sound guys from Underworld).

The chosen actors are impeccable for their roles. Clive Owen is perfectly cast as a rugged and reluctant hero with a penchant for carrots and creative gunplay. Few actors can blend his charisma, cool and charm in such over-the-top surroundings. Leading the chase against the Clive is a Paul Giamatti - exchanging his loser image for a bit of creepy instead. Third in the mix is Moncia Bellucci as a hooker with a very special talent and a very golden heart. And so the three collide in a series of near escapes and by the end of it all the justice is dispensed, the future looks bright and the body count is high.