Shoot 'Em Up Reviews

Bottom-Line: In the end-game Shoot ‘Em Up is entertaining enough if you like mindless violence, and little if no ploy-line. 

British actor Clive Owen has a put together a reputation as an actor who shows up wherever the most violence is erupting.  His tough, grizzled face lends itself to these roles, and he plays them rather well if you are into these type of movies.  You know the violence laden, mindless, plot constrained movie with flying bullets, loud explosions, and wanton sex.  Such a movie is Shoot ‘Em Up (2007), written and directed by Michael Davis.     

My Viewpoint

Shoot ‘Em...

I knew this film was going to be bad, but with Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti, I thought it would be watchable. It's not. It could have been. They could have made it believable and somewhat realistic. What we get instead is a video game devoid of anything believable whatsoever. If the writers that are on strike are responsible for this tripe, I say fire them all and start over. My dog could have written a better film. It's made for fourteen year old boys, period. If you're not one, skip this trash.

The title says it all: Shoot 'Em Up has a lot of extreme gunplay, and writer/director Michael Davis is irreverent and playful enough to show off his intentions right in the title.

The term "shoot 'em up" has been applied to a genre of video games as early as Space Invaders, but decades before that low budget westerns carried the label. A shoot 'em up provides lots of gunpowder-fueled action with just enough character and plot to hold the movie together.

Davis - whose previous film is a monster movie entitled Monster Man - obviously sees no need for subterfuge in creating entertainment. Shoot 'Em...

So, my boyfriend and I decided this action-packed film would be a nice break-away from the comedic movies we usually rent. Except not. I laughed harder at this movie than I have laughed at any movie in a while...and not in a good way. Not one single part of this movie was believable..or even really entertaining. After about an hour, we shut it off and watched something with more substance, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila.