Spring Break
Lack of plot, character creativity and quality backfire on 'Shoot 'Em Up'
Good actors gone bad.
Issue date: 9/20/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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In the tradition of many of the action films before it, Shoot 'Em Up tries to reinvent new ways of killing the bad guy and intriguing the audience. Unfortunately, it failed to do so in ways that could be considered entertaining.
To tell the truth, the action was pretty good. The gunfights were everything a gunfight ever really is in a movie, a lot of bangs, guys sliding around, explosions causing chain reactions to drop things on guys and the bad guys never hitting the good guys. If this is what you wanted to see in Shoot 'Em Up, then stop reading this article, purchase your ticket and watch the movie. Unfortunately for Shoot 'Em Up, that's all there is to that movie, just those semi-cool action scenes that happen every now and again. The gunfights last for a good while when they happen, it's always a small militia led by Paul Giamatti against Clive Owen. Squads of men armed with machine guns would charge towards Owen's location only to be assaulted by the single pistol, two clip-carrying men, who would then dispatch them to hell.
It's unfortunate that with the above paragraph I've disclosed pretty much the entire movie condensed from its 90-minute on screen shenanigans. In fact, all that wasn't mentioned in the above was everything wrong with the film.
The characters built for the film were nothing more than mere shells with names. Their stories ran about as thick as the clothes you could see them wearing. In fact, their appearance was pretty much their story. Giamatti played the villain named Hertz, all that is known about him is he has a family and he works for a gun dealer. The film viewer only knows he has a family because he can been seen talking to them on a cell phone during the scenes when there aren't gunfights. Monica Belluci plays DQ, a lactating prostitute. Want more on her character? Too bad, besides the fact that she had a miscarriage, that's about all you're going to get from the movie. And finally is Clive Owen, ah yes, the hero. There should be something to the hero, a good back story, strong moral upbringing and an apparent poast relationship with DQ. Once again though, we're left in the dark. Owen's character is aptly named Mr. Smith. Here's the catch, that's not his real name. Does the viewer ever find out anything beyond that Mr. Smith likes carrots, is good with guns and very much looks like a bum? Well, all the functions in his run down home are operated by a series of Rube-Goldberg-esque devices.
To tell the truth, the action was pretty good. The gunfights were everything a gunfight ever really is in a movie, a lot of bangs, guys sliding around, explosions causing chain reactions to drop things on guys and the bad guys never hitting the good guys. If this is what you wanted to see in Shoot 'Em Up, then stop reading this article, purchase your ticket and watch the movie. Unfortunately for Shoot 'Em Up, that's all there is to that movie, just those semi-cool action scenes that happen every now and again. The gunfights last for a good while when they happen, it's always a small militia led by Paul Giamatti against Clive Owen. Squads of men armed with machine guns would charge towards Owen's location only to be assaulted by the single pistol, two clip-carrying men, who would then dispatch them to hell.
It's unfortunate that with the above paragraph I've disclosed pretty much the entire movie condensed from its 90-minute on screen shenanigans. In fact, all that wasn't mentioned in the above was everything wrong with the film.
The characters built for the film were nothing more than mere shells with names. Their stories ran about as thick as the clothes you could see them wearing. In fact, their appearance was pretty much their story. Giamatti played the villain named Hertz, all that is known about him is he has a family and he works for a gun dealer. The film viewer only knows he has a family because he can been seen talking to them on a cell phone during the scenes when there aren't gunfights. Monica Belluci plays DQ, a lactating prostitute. Want more on her character? Too bad, besides the fact that she had a miscarriage, that's about all you're going to get from the movie. And finally is Clive Owen, ah yes, the hero. There should be something to the hero, a good back story, strong moral upbringing and an apparent poast relationship with DQ. Once again though, we're left in the dark. Owen's character is aptly named Mr. Smith. Here's the catch, that's not his real name. Does the viewer ever find out anything beyond that Mr. Smith likes carrots, is good with guns and very much looks like a bum? Well, all the functions in his run down home are operated by a series of Rube-Goldberg-esque devices.
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