****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
What a wonderful piece of mind candy. Just remember, this movie is a spoof -- a comedy. A carrot-chomping, dark-souled hero (Clive Owen) who was national pistol champion at age ten? Of course he's got to win against each and every bad guy. Thus, with his first wave of thugs destroyed, the evil-doer (Paul Giamatti) hears that it's only going to be possible to scrape together another "fifty" to finish off the lone hero.As something maybe akin to mockumentary, "Shoot 'Em Up" takes what's real from the action thriller genre and creates a brilliant parody. The action scenes, chases, gun-bursts, and all the effects seem as though they belong. We might expect Charles Bronson, Steven Seagal, or Vin Diesel to appear at any moment. Instead, Clive Owen carries the day, stuffing more than one baddie with a quick carrot through the brain. Seriously! Dozens more fall in various hails of gunfire or stunningly improvised booby traps.A good many action-thriller cliches get taken over the top -- the bordello gunfights, the mutual redemption of the anti-hero and the fallen woman, a crusader politician who proves more than susceptible to betraying the cause, arms dealing, and the perpetual search for a truly safe hideout.Of course, in this "mock-u-thriller" the love-making that seals the deal in the mutual redemption between our protagonists reaches its culmination in hail of gunfire with black-clad gunmen falling on all sides. First, think Jack Nicholson's "Triumph" scene with Sally Struthers in "Five Easy Pieces." Then, turn the scene into a Ninja attack and allow Clive Own to use an automatic rifle as he swirls Monica Bellucci to ecstasy. For the double-dealing politician, "Shoot 'Em Up" makes short work of the obligatory struggle on the chartered airliner. Clive Owen pretty quickly takes the politician hostage, holding off Paul Giamatti and assorted thugs just long-enough to get into the cargo hold, where he plugs his hostage between the eyes and jumps into an extraordinary sky-diving gunfight, thus creating yet another labor shortage in the thug market.A few last takes on these mock-u-thriller touches: The tank on display in a military exhibition provides the safe house for Monica Bellucci and the infant, who is the real target of the thugs. The "not-airlines-trains-ships-buses" escape for Bellucci and the child is cunningly labeled the bus to "Wherever." Clive Owen stays behind to kill off a final wave of thugs, the "super boss," and Paul Giamatti The happy reunion bringing Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci, and their adopted infant back together takes place in the roadside restaurant where Bellucci and the infant have gone to ground -- in the midst of foiling a robbery attempt by a gang of seriously armed thugs.Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci, and Paul Giamatti are fabulous at carrying through straight-faced with their schtick. What a treat.
