Shoot 'em Up

Action movie starring Clive Owen as Smith, a down-and-out squatter with both an extensive military background and a fondness for carrots, who wants nothing more than to be left alone. Smith finds himself embroiled in a complex political conspiracy once he aids a pregnant woman who is being chased by a hitman. He takes the baby and goes on the run with a prostitute (Monica Bellucci). The unlikely family is trailed by the intelligent and ruthless Hertz (Paul Giamatti) and his army of thugs. From . Relax, switch your brain off, stick your tongue in cheek and settle down. If you can do all of these things, then Shoot Em Up is one of the most downright fun movies youre likely to have seen in some time. Just make sure youve adhered to the aforementioned checklist to the letter first. Shamelessly over the top, and boasting a carnival of action sequences that each seemingly try to out do the other, the core of Shoot Em Up is Paul Giamatti (Sideways) and Clive Owen (The Inside Man) pitted against each other. In the middle is some nonsense over saving a newborn child, and Monica Bellucis call girl gets put into the mix too. That said, all plot is thrown out of the window at every opportunity in favour of more action, upping the body count and heck, why not a bit more action. And you know what Shoot Em Up works, and it does so because everyone is in on it. This is no postmodern pretentious reworking: this is a fun, stylish action movie, and proud of it. It boasts a trimmed-to-the-wire running time, some outrageous sequences, a few bum notes but a whole lot of energy. And while it is, all considered, an excitable action movie and nothing more, Shoot Em Up is also uproarious entertainment, and the kind of film that Friday night was invented for. --Jon Foster