A strange movie this one as it seems like a bit of a cross between two of Clive Owen’s previous movies Sin City and Children of Men with a bit of Looney Tunes thrown in for good measure.
Mr. Smith (Owen) finds himself the reluctant guardian of a newborn when he rescues a heavily pregnant woman from a killer. Upon despatching the hitman with a carrot Smith discovers that the guy he killed wasn’t alone and a whole host of armed men are apparently in pursuit of the pregnant woman. Paul Giamatti as the leader of the gang of killers plays Elmer Fudd to Clive Owen’s Bugs Bunny, is he like Fudd “a pussy who uses a gun to make him look tough”? Well next to Owen’s unstoppable killing machine the answer has to be yes.
Shoot ‘Em Up is also peculiar in that it is an anti-gun movie that is extremely violent with dozens of people as the title suggests being shot to death if they are not being killed by the occasional carrot when Smith finds himself out of ammunition. Enjoyable but not wholly satisfying.
