Writer-director Michael Davis seems to have watched enough mediocre action movies to know what makes them bland and silly. Just look at the brilliant nerd dissections of the James Bond movies in "Eight Days a Week." His new one "Shoot 'Em Up" takes all the clichés that have made modern action movies so bland and hypes them up into a surreal, fast-paced send up.
"Shoot 'Em Up" can be best described as a punk rock action movie with mockery and gratuity so deeply intertwined that its shameless excess becomes ultimately thrilling. Unlike indecisive action spoofs like Charlie's Angels, which couldn't seem to find the right tone or balance to truly spoof its subject, Shoot 'Em Up is constantly clever in its cartoonish cracks at tired action movie conventions. This is one of the only movies I have ever seen that is truly seamless in its blend of action and comedy.
Clive Owen plays your typical loner action hero world weary, cynical and tough. He goes by Smith and is always seen eating a carrot. Why not? Don't action movies usually tend to be as ridiculous as Looney Toons? Anyway, Smith reluctantly ends up saving an infant child from a band of crooks led by a hilariously over the top Paul Giamatti.
Soon he finds himself caught up in a political conspiracy involving the firearm industry. Typically some jabs at gun ownership are made, but the social commentary is nothing particularly revolutionary or insightful. "Shoot 'Em Up" is so pitch-perfect as a spoof that its political messages don't seem immediately relevant.
I loved "Shoot 'Em Up" because it never stops moving at its breakneck pace. It reminded me of last year's similarly fast-moving and ludicrous Crank, only it didn't feel as desperate and it didn't run out of steam like that movie did. It is keeps your interest by being genuinely thrilling and funny, not by being cheap and mindless. Michael Davis has created a Spinal Tap for the action movie. May the tired formulas of routine action pictures rest in peace.
"Shoot 'Em Up" can be best described as a punk rock action movie with mockery and gratuity so deeply intertwined that its shameless excess becomes ultimately thrilling. Unlike indecisive action spoofs like Charlie's Angels, which couldn't seem to find the right tone or balance to truly spoof its subject, Shoot 'Em Up is constantly clever in its cartoonish cracks at tired action movie conventions. This is one of the only movies I have ever seen that is truly seamless in its blend of action and comedy.
Clive Owen plays your typical loner action hero world weary, cynical and tough. He goes by Smith and is always seen eating a carrot. Why not? Don't action movies usually tend to be as ridiculous as Looney Toons? Anyway, Smith reluctantly ends up saving an infant child from a band of crooks led by a hilariously over the top Paul Giamatti.
Soon he finds himself caught up in a political conspiracy involving the firearm industry. Typically some jabs at gun ownership are made, but the social commentary is nothing particularly revolutionary or insightful. "Shoot 'Em Up" is so pitch-perfect as a spoof that its political messages don't seem immediately relevant.
I loved "Shoot 'Em Up" because it never stops moving at its breakneck pace. It reminded me of last year's similarly fast-moving and ludicrous Crank, only it didn't feel as desperate and it didn't run out of steam like that movie did. It is keeps your interest by being genuinely thrilling and funny, not by being cheap and mindless. Michael Davis has created a Spinal Tap for the action movie. May the tired formulas of routine action pictures rest in peace.