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Directed by: Michael Davis Starring: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci Shoot 'Em Up, in my opinion, can best be described as Sin City meets Kung-Fu Hussle. The story follows Clive Owen's character, a mysterious badass named Mr. Smith, who just loves to munch on carrots. He sees a pregnant woman being chased by a man with a gun and immediately leaps into action, carrot in hand. After some hilariously over-the-top shooting sequences, the lady gives birth to a child that Mr. Smith takes with him. He then teams up with a hooker in an attempt to keep the baby alive and figure out why Paul Giamatti's character wants it dead so badly. The plot is really weak. I feel it's the biggest detractor from the otherwise awesome movie. I don't think, however, that most people who have heard anything about the movie will be expecting a gripping storyline. They'll be expecting the outrageous, over-the-top, action-packed sequences masterfully delivered by Clive Owen. If you come expecting that, you will not be disappointed. The entire movie seemed to be a parody of every other movie with a gunslinging badass who always seems to have perfect aim and can take out hundreds of men without suffering even a scratch. The ways Mr. Smith took out some of his enemies were so creative, that it was often to the point of absurdity. The incredibly cheesy lines he threw in at the end of every killing spree just added to the hilarity. One of the other things I didn't like about this movie, though, was how serious it was during many of the non-action scenes. RATING: 4 PROS: Clive Owen, outrageous action scenes, the use of carrots. CONS: Weak story, inconsistently funny. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465602/
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Sep 7, 2007 23:12
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 04:24 |
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I was laughing my rear end off the entire movie. I was sitting behind a bunch of loud (but funny) black guys that kept cracking jokes and cracking up throughout the movie. So many of the jokes are so cheesy that they become funny from that fact alone. And yes, it's got a TON of violence in it, so much so that it's hysterical. Do not expect to see anything more than a very entertaining movie though, the storyline is very weak. More entertaining than S.O.A.P and funny than Superbad, to me at least.
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Sep 8, 2007 07:46
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It was entertaining but definitely not funnier than Superbad. After a while you're like "yeah it's making fun of the genre by doing everything over the top, I get it." Some parts still had me laughing, but it's the kind of laughing where you shake your head because it's so ridiculous. To me that's not as deep or profound as drawings of penises in historical events. 4/5
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Sep 8, 2007 08:49
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This is the best movie I've seen all summer. The only flaw was that at some points Monica Bellucci seemed to get confused and think she was in a real movie where acting was warranted. 5.5/5
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Sep 8, 2007 09:23
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I enjoyed this even more than I thought I would. It was sort of like Crank but replace drugs with guns. Paul Giamatti was extremely funny, and my whole theater loved him. The entire place broke up and started applauding when he discovers the fake baby and gets all disgusted. 4.5/5 The Royal Nonesuch fucked around with this message at 06:18 on Sep 11, 2007 |
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Sep 8, 2007 22:44
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Absolutely ridiculous (I think I said that about Crank too). Unfortunately you start to get antsy in a "come on, start shooting again" kind of way, because every shoot out one-ups the previous, right up until the climax. They could have cut half the dialog (but none of the one-liners) and had a snappier, shorter flick and lost nothing. This was really enjoyable though. The hilarious action is the real star, but the competing one-liners from Owen and Giamatti are just as enjoyable. I've never laughed so hard at "Oh, what the hell?!" before. 4.5/5
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Sep 9, 2007 06:05
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Violence, sex, and bad comedy; all in spades. This movie promises and delivers. I was really impressed in some of the action choreography. I generally prefer something a little less over the top but it was still very good. The overall story is pretty silly but its almost to be expected; no real points lost there. A solid good time. 4/5
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Sep 9, 2007 09:28
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Ridiculous plot. Ridiculous action scenes. Many one liners. Exactly what I expected. 5/5
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Sep 10, 2007 00:53
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I wanted carrots so freaking bad after this movie... It was outrageous and ridiculous, I had no idea what was happening but all I could think about was what witty MSN name I could make up to describe it. 5/5
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Sep 10, 2007 04:25
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I thought Crank was one of the most ridiculously fun movies I'd ever seen, until I saw this movie. Just go in with a completely empty brain, and it's one of the best movies you'll see. 5/5
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Sep 10, 2007 04:41
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This is the Hot Fuzz I wanted to see! My roommates were very skeptical about this movie but thanked me for talking them into seeing it. The action was so ridiculous and over the top throughout the whole movie. I read some reviews just to absolutely make sure it would be worth going to see. I loved Crank. This was definitely better than Crank. 5/5
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Sep 10, 2007 14:34
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After the opening sequence I said "this is the most ridiculous movie I've ever seen which makes it so loving awesome!" At the end I still wasn't wrong. 4/5.
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Sep 11, 2007 09:19
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This just didn't do much for me. I love the idea of parodying stupid action movies. I enjoyed Crank because it was drat funny. And Hot Fuzz was brilliant. But Shoot 'em Up just wasn't that funny. There were a couple occasions that made me laugh, but not nearly enough. I "got" it. I just didn't find myself laughing very much. And when the humor doesn't work in a shallow movie like this, there's really nothing left to like about it. Though I will say, I enjoyed the actors in it. Especially Giamatti. 2/5
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Sep 12, 2007 00:37
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I enjoyed this movie. Non stop nonsense and scenarios that make you cheer and cringe that you are cheering. The Bugs Bunny vs Elmer Fudd thing going on was fantastic, was like one of the cartoons coming to life. Monica Bellucci is a stone cold fox. 4/5
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Sep 12, 2007 06:12
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This movie didn't really do anything for me either. The action sequences were fun and the characters were over the top, but sometimes it felt like the movie forgot what it was and tacked some "serious" acting and dialog onto a plot that warranted neither. Didn't like it nearly as much as Crank. 2/5
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Sep 13, 2007 04:41
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I saw this film alone in a theater with maybe 5 other people in it. (Excuse: I don't go back to college for another week, every other person in my town is back at school, I see a lot of movies ok!?) I thought it fell kinda flat. Sure, some of the jokes/deaths were creative and got me to chuckle, but I didn't think it was all that inventive. There are only so many different ways you can shoot a guy; it wasn't creativity, it was simply having perfect aim. It's boring because it requires so little effort on behalf of the hero. What with how shallow the plot and characters were, I couldn't really get myself to care about anything that was happening in the movie. I simply wasn't entertained. The movie gets a lot of points for style, but it's way too trivial to compare to the ultra-aesthetic moviemaking of "Sin City" or "300." (It could also just be the fact that I watched Seven Samurai before I left, and everything looks like garbage next to that). I would like to watch this movie again, on DVD, with a bunch of friends and while drinking. It would probably be a lot more enjoyable. 2/5 edit: forgot one other thing that ticked me off: the use of Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti and Monica Belluci in roles that could have been played by theater dropouts extra innings lovin fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Sep 14, 2007 |
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Sep 14, 2007 03:44
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Shoot 'Em Up is basically a B-movie shot with A-list actors who are completely aware of the ridiculous nature of the film. It's only real failing was the handful of moments where it took itself remotely seriously. 4/5
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Sep 15, 2007 19:09
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caiman posted:This just didn't do much for me. I love the idea of parodying stupid action movies. I enjoyed Crank because it was drat funny. And Hot Fuzz was brilliant. But Shoot 'em Up just wasn't that funny. There were a couple occasions that made me laugh, but not nearly enough. I "got" it. I just didn't find myself laughing very much. And when the humor doesn't work in a shallow movie like this, there's really nothing left to like about it. I feel the same way, except I haven't seen Crank. I understood what the movie was supposed to be, I just for some reason wasn't entertained by it at all. I won't say it was a horrible waste of time or anything, but I'm not jumping at the chance to recommend it to people either. 2.5/5
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Sep 21, 2007 23:45
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I just saw it early this evening and I thought it was great. I haven't seen a good gunplay movie stateside since equilibrium, and this one definitely doesn't dissapoint. I could honestly care less about a good story for this kind of flick, as long as it features the hero sliding and shooting or diving and shooting at the same time.
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Sep 22, 2007 07:19
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I was asked to see this with a few friends of mine. I went into it not knowing anything other than Clive Owen was starring. It was one of the most over-the-top action films that I've ever seen. Kept me laughing from beginning to the end. 5/5
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Oct 16, 2007 05:05
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Hilariously awesomely fantastic, totally brilliant. 4/5
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Oct 23, 2007 11:19
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It was a fun adrenaline-filled show, although no substance. And yet again another gunslinging Clive Owen on the run from some organization with some woman (i.e. Derailed) and/or a baby. But I found that although Children of Men fell along the same basic lines, that it at least had a great story and depth. 2/5
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Nov 19, 2007 09:59
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I found this pretty mediocre. The story was weak, and for an action-oriented film, the fights and gunplay were surprisingly bland. There isn't anything special about the main character other than being a really good shot, and his obsession with carrots is idiotic. Oh, and the music felt way out of place. Instead of choosing songs that actually fit with visuals, it sounds like they just shuffled a bunch of "awesome tracks" off the director's iPod. Paul Giamatti and Clive Owen are among my favorite actors, I can't for the life of me figure out how they got implicated in this mess. 2/5 from me, and that's only because Giamatti made a decent villain.
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Dec 12, 2007 20:31
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I felt like I was watching Max Payne: the Movie when I saw this. For me, Shoot 'Em Up was constantly on the verge of being to silly to enjoy but my overall impression was positive. If I sat down and analyzed the plot I'd probably dislike it more (like how the main characters are always following vague hunches) but that wouldn't really be in the spirit of the movie. At one point Clive Owen had this look on his face like he couldn't believe the things he gets paid to say with a straight face. Monica Bellucci isn't a very good actor but she sure is pretty. Giamatti put in the best perfomance in the movie, but then again villains are usually more interesting. Having the hero of a fire fight movie be pro gun control is a magnificent joke. 3/5
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Jan 29, 2008 16:18
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It has a stupidly weak plot, but it's not trying to have a plot. Shoot 'Em Up basically just tries to throw in a lot of hilarious one-liners with as high a bodycount as possible, and it excels at that. I was thoroughly entertained and laughed at this a hell of a lot more than I do in a lot of dedicated comedies that come out these days. The "What's up, doc?" line had me in absolute stitches. 4/5
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Jan 30, 2008 05:40
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I love stupid, pointless, violent movies. This movie delivered plenty of violence, stupidity, and pointlessness, and the introductory firefight leading up to the Wolfmother song just pumped me up for the rest of the movie. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie was not as good as the beginning. There was a lot of bizarre, pointless retardation going on and the movie spiraled out of control into a completely inane schlockfest that looked like it was directed by a kindergarten student with ADHD. The recurring themes with the carrot and baby got played out very quickly and the movie ended up requiring such suspension of disbelief that you could build a loving transatlantic bridge with it. I sat through it only because I had nothing better to do, which, I guess is better than turning it off completely (or walking out, had it been in a theater) which is more than I can say for Batman & Robin, The Postman, or Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever. If you are reading this, and are in the mood for pointless violence, you can do better. Crank is equally dumb but less unbelievable, District B13 has more parkour and less shooting, and Last Man Standing actually has fragments of a plot and the highest body count in the history of gunfighting movies. 2/5 only because it was just terrible enough to sit through.
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Jan 30, 2008 22:25
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Me and my friend rented this knowing that it was an aptly named title and that's what we were in the mood for. Even so, we both got bored about halfway through and I just couldn't wait for the end. I get the whole, it's good cause it's over the top, but making a whole movie out of it is a little too much. I think the first part was good and silly, but then after that it just felt like I was watching the someone play a videogame. 2/5
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Feb 3, 2008 04:09
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Even though this fits under the banner of "leave your brain at the doorstep" type of movies, and, even though it doesn't take itself seriously, I still can't justify giving this more than a 2/5. As a comedy movie it's only funny to see how horrendous Monica Belluci, who is REALLY showing her age in this movie, can be at acting. The action sequences have already been out-done several times over by John Woo and Equilibrium.
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Feb 5, 2008 23:23
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0.5 out of 5 for the simple fact that it is in fact "a movie". I'm not one of those people who can't check my brain but by god this was painful. The writing and plot and bad/ugly prosthetic baby just made me want to punch babies everywhere. 0.5/5
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Mar 23, 2008 06:40
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I didn't take the movie seriously and had a great time. I found myself laughing at just how stupid and over the top the action sequences were. 4/5
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May 4, 2008 23:46
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What hurt this movie for me was that at no point did I feel the baby or the hooker were in any real danger. So there was no real "drive" or "tension" to speak of. You can do very stupid, very silly, very unrealistic action scenes and still have them mean something, which Shoot 'Em Up fails to do. However I did think that the action in the film was well-staged and interesting and it's worth seeing just for all the goofy and funny stuff it does. But it feels like a series of skits involving guns more than an actual movie. 3/5
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May 7, 2008 23:46
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One of the worst movies i've seen in a long time. It was like Scary Movie of action flicks....except it wasn't satire. A few good shooting stunts, but most were actually weak and the biggest laughs were at how dumb the action was(my WIFE even thought it was sad). What's ironic is this is actually an anti-gun movie, and main bad guy is working for an evil gun manufacturer, and Owen is some kind of monk who has been "enlightened" that guns are bad, mmkaaayy. Of course the trailers and marketing for the movie left that part out, so the hypocrisy is pretty blatant. I could have done without the left wing preaching about guns while in fact shooting people. The talents of Giamatti and Owen are squandered by ho-hum direction and dialogue. There are lots of good action movies, many with humor. However this movie doesn't do a single thing well, and pretty much everything poorly. 1/5
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May 24, 2008 18:35
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