By Kevin McCarthy

I must admit I am not familiar with aspiring auteur Michael Davis’ work, but I might have to give the guy a chance now.  His latest rages within its titular genre like lightning in a bottle. SHOOT ‘EM UP bristles with adolescent fury and bravado, encouraged by a flasher in the park’s sense of shame.  See, Davis is distractingly unapologetic about the license he takes with plot in his enthusiastic charge towards ramping up the action as much as possible.  Story is generally regarded as something squeezed in as gunmen reload and significant dialogue is often hobbled by corny one-liners a la 007 canon.  But I have to argue that the ends justify the means.  His indulgent script is matched by decadent filmmaking, the product of which is cinematic comfort food for action fans – as any shoot ‘em up should be.

The film opens with Clive Owen, known only as Mr. Smith, sitting alone on a bench beneath a streetlight.  A very pregnant woman runs past him, fleeing some armed thugs.  Smith follows her pursuers and delivers the child amid a downpour of bullet casings.  He manages to escape the barrage with the baby boy, but the new mother unfortunately catches one between the eyes.  Paul Giamatti plays Hertz, right-hand man to Hammerson (Steven McHattie) and a man dead-set on killing the child.  Hammerson is the head of a weapons manufacturer and he keeps his army of employees well-equipped.  Smith enlists the help of hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold Donna (Monica Bellucci) on his quest to save the newborn and figure out why Hammerson wants Baby Oliver dead.  Sometimes Davis thinks he’s a little cleverer than he actually is, but he does well enough moving things along between the action sequences, which are the rightful centerpieces to the picture.


Owen’s character is your basic noir-ish action hero.  His surliness is qualified by a bone-straight morality and shadowy past. Smith is a cross between Owen’s roles in SIN CITY and CHILDREN OF MEN.  Bellucci is breath-taking.  Her natural sex appeal is enchanting.  American audiences will probably know her as that woman from THE MATRIX sequels.  Those that see SHOOT ‘EM UP will certainly be clamoring for more of her.  She has an old Hollywood presence coupled with a European sensuality. I hope filmmakers reach across the pond a little more frequently in the future.


SHOOT ‘EM UP is the type of movie that garners a lot of sound-bytes.  I don’t need to check the newspaper to know that some critic is calling it “high-octane” and another “a bloody romp.”  While it is these things, the inevitable subsequent comparisons to another of Clive Owen’s films, SIN CITY (guilty, I know), are inaccurate.  While that film was a heavily stylized drama of interweaving plot threads, SHOOT ‘EM UP is more of a no-frills popcorn flick.  The title is perfect.  The vaguely dismissive label for one of the baser forms of action films does well to suggest the filmmakers’ approach.  And just as there are great “cop movies” that aren’t necessarily “crime dramas,” SHOOT ‘EM UP is a great success as a movie just out to entertain.  With any luck, we might be rewarded with another Robert Rodriguez – I’m not willing to go that far just yet, however.  The movie comes highly recommended by me, but if you’re not a fan of the genre, there’s nothing here for you.