Hey Harry, not sure if you guys care or not but I saw a test screening of Shoot Em Up tonight. Ive sent a few things in before, thought Id give you the heads up on this crazy one. Crazy being the keyword, no, crazy and utterly ridiculous but incredibly cool at the same time, thats a better assessment. The film stars Clive Owen, and Im pretty sure after people watch this film, even with all the accolades handed down to Mr. Craig as Bond, people will walk away scratching their
heads, wondering what could have been with Mr. Owen in the tux. In this film he trades the tux for the wardrobe a of a homeless man, sitting on a bus bench, chomping on a carrot when out of nowhere a pregnant woman runs by, clutching her belly, screaming. Funny at first it turns frightening when a car flies around the corner, smashing into another as a guy stumbles out, ***** a gun and gives chase. Mr. Smith casually shakes his head and decides to help the pregnant woman. This simple plot point sets up the rest of the film, Owen as Mr. Smith, protecting this baby from some bad guys led by Paul Giamatti, who brings equal parts humor, creepiness and perverseness.
The film clocks in at a brisk hour and 30mins, loaded with guns, gunshots, bullet wounds and some of the most ridiculous action sequences Ive ever seen, including an aerial shoot out. The one liners are so frequent and so good, as are the action sequences that one can forgive the weak story line that sort of falls apart once the pieces are put together. But Clive Owen is so cool and badass that he shifts our focus from the story to the mere fact that the action in this film is like nothing we have seen in a long time, if ever (not to mention a sex scene that leaves you shaking your head) and Paul Giamattis twist on a bad guy works wonders, him and Owen are just so much fun to watch. Overall, a pretty solid film that will satisfy action buffs and those looking for a new take on shootouts, car chases and sex scenes.