Shoot 'Em Up Starring Clive Owen And Paul Giamatti
Posted September 23, 2007 at 12:43 PM by Ben Nadel
After seeing the previews for this movie, I had absolutely no desire to see it; I thought it looked all kinds of bad, and I'm sorry, I just couldn't believe Paul Giamatti playing a hitman, despite the fact that he's an excellent actor. I only went to see it cause I'm a huge Clive Owen fan and I was with some people that were like-minded (re: Clive Owen fans). Plus, we had to kill some time and the theatre was right there.
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This movie turned out to be pretty much ever thing that I had expected it to be: horrible. I don't even know what they were going for? It felt like a spoof on action movies - like a "Scary Movie" for the action movie fans. I guess I just don't understand that style of film. I never really liked the Scary Movie series either. I enjoy action movies, so I don't get the desire to see a movie that spoofs them. Of course, I am not against spoofs altogether; I enjoyed movies like Space Balls, UHF, and the Naked Gun series.
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This movie is scoring somewhat well on both Rotten Tomatoes and the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), with a 67% and a 7.7/10 rating respectively (at the time of this writing), so clearly I am not seeing what other are seeing. And clearly, I am not seeing what Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti saw in it. I mean, come on, these are huge names in acting - what are they doing in a movie like this. Clive Owen was well cast for the part - the dude is just a badass - but being right for a role doesn't mean the role was right for him. I can only hope that these two were paid very well for this film, because I am not sure that this choice will help them much in any other way.
Not sure what else to say about it. Definitely, I am not recommending that anyone see it. Unless you like spoof type movies, then yeah, this movie is probably for you.
Reader Comments
FIRST OF ALL WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE SAYING THAT SHOOT EM UP SUCKED. IF YOU THINK THAT SHOOT EM UP SUCKED THAN YOU ARE INSANE. SHOOT EM UP WAS ONE OF PAUL GIAMATII BEST MOVIE IN LIKE EVER.
@Nwaf,
I think my problem was that I went in with the wrong expectations. I didn't realize the movie was going to be so much of a "spoof" on action movies. Had I gone in with that expectation, my feelings may have been different.
Paul Giamatti is the man - definitely one of the unsung heroes of his generation; however, him as an action villian? I just wasn't buying it. Of course, I think the whole point is supposed to be rediculous, hence him talking to his wife on the phone at the most inopportune times. So, in that respect, he did do an awesome job.
Your review is good... I enjoyed the movie but I didn't have any expectations at all and I'm fairly easy to please.
Anyway, you didn't like this, and you didn't like Babylon A.D. ... but have you seen Children of Men (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/). In a nutshell it's what Babylon A.D. could've been but with Clive Owen. Although he's not in a "kickass" role, he plays it wonderfully.
Anyway, I haven't really said much, but if you haven't seen Children of Men then you should consider it next time you're at the video store.
@Rick,
Yeah, Children of Men is really good! Clive Owen rocks in it. The whole scene where they are running through the broken down building towards the end, great.
That scene just blew me away... it went round streets, through a bus, through a building as it was being torn apart then out of the building as it was destroyed... all in one long cut. The DVD extras are great too, they show how they filmed another long cut in the car ambush sequence
@Rick,
Good point - the DVD would probably be great to watch for the extras.
this was one of the dumbest movies ive seen in a long time. it was jsut stupid and gay, and if anyone thinks otherwise then you have no taste or level of standards. nuff said.
I actually enjoyed this movie quite a lot. It was different, certainly, but I think they were going for more of a Quentin Tarentino-"wow, that was weird"-vibe than an actual spoof.
Once I realized the baby would never actually be in any danger in this movie, I was able to sit back and enjoy it.
