Shoot 'Em Up

I actually attended the world premiere of Shoot 'Em Up in San Diego over a month ago, however I have not reviewed until now because I have had trouble making up my mind of whether it was brilliant or kinda dumb. I admit that during the film, I had the time of my life. Dozens of laughs thanks to the over the top action provided by writer/director Michael Davis (of whom I had the pleasure of meeting). I wouldn't go as far as to call the film a spoof, but it does seem to set out to parody the slippery slope of action movies. However, rather than being a "action movies are stupid and ridiculous" statement, the end result seems to be a comment more like "relax and enjoy, it's just for fun". Something, I myself, may have forgotten of late. The film follows our hero "Mr. Smith" played by Clive Owen, who effortlessly plays it cool for 90 minutes, on the run from our very creepy villain "Mr. Hertz", played by Paul Giamatti who actually puts on quite the performance. Throughout the movie are wonderful thrills and hilarious finishing moves (trust me, you'll never look at a carrot the same way again). And you'll laugh your head off and you're in for a few wonderful surprises as well. So if you want to see a brainy thriller, look away, but if you want to have a good time, rush to to the theatre as soon as possible.