Shoot 'Em Up (2007)

Directed by: Michael Davis
Starring: Clive Owen

***

The opening scene of this film doesn't really bother with being reasonable, realistic or even fathomable.  What is does do is pack in more action than I've seen in some time. The scene goes by so quickly though that I was kind of frustrated by the lack of entertainment within.

The rest of the film continues at lightning speed. There's a plot, there's a conflict and the character's have some motivation. I know this because the character's told me everything straight out. Not exactly quality filmmaking but at the same time, Michael Davis appeared to have been smart enough to know that his audience wasn't there for scenes to flesh out the story. What they were more interested in was more shooting, more blood and more action.

The film surrounds a newborn baby that Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) delivers during the heat of a fire fight. When the mother is killed, he takes responsibility for said baby and is forced to fight off perhaps the biggest gang on bad guys with no motive in the history of cinema. When he kills them all, Paul Giamatti, the lead bad guy, rounds up 50 more.  Its a Jackie Chan type action movie that almost makes you laugh at the invincibility of our protagonist and the horrible aim of all the bad guys.

The film acknowledges itself well though. It understands what it is. Giamatti very smartly points out, "Are we this bad or is this guy really that good?" It is lines like this that allow this movie to get away with all that it does. By not taking itself too seriously, I don't tend to mind that Clive Owen keeps killing people with carrots.  Everytime Shoot 'Em Up slows down with simple storytelling procedures like a love story or an explanation of conflicts and their resolutions we're greeted with a spectacular shootout. Normally this wouldn't work, but again, this movie knows its over the top Mr. Smith killing every invading swat member while having sex is not only acceptable, its welcomed.

Here in lies the conflict in reviewing a film like this. Just because a movie does everything it intends to do well, doesn't necessarily make it a good movie. However, how can I suggest that a movie like this isn't good when it is in fact well made, entertaining and successful in what its attempting to do? Shoot 'Em Up is a good movie. Its really the only conclusion I can come to. Everything about it is so BIG that its okay if it doesn't make sense.  Its a gunshot to a car's gas tank making it explode times a hundred.

What the film does miss despite all its action is really come across as cool.  Mr. Smith didn't have the kind of "make me want to kill people all sorts of cool ways" influence that Jason Bourne, James Bond or Ethan Hunt have.  As outrageous as this movie was, it wasn't really all that cool and unfortunately, movies like this really have to be cool.  But I give it a pass because while it wasn't as cool as I wanted it to be, it was entertaining in a unique way that not a lot of movies I've seen have been able to pull off.