When writer/ director Michael Davis shopped Shoot 'Em Up around the studios, he described it as "John Woo's wet dream". When Clive Owen's running around firing a gun while holding a baby, it's hard not to recall Chow Yun Fat in Woo's Hard Boiled. However, Davis' films has all the good points of Woo'
When writer/ director Michael Davis shopped Shoot 'Em Up around the studios, he described it as "John Woo's wet dream". When Clive Owen's running around firing a gun while holding a baby, it's hard not to recall Chow Yun Fat in Woo's Hard Boiled. However, Davis' films has all the good points of Woo's early Hong Kong films (we'll ignore most of his Hollywood work shall we?) it refreshingly has none of the pretensions and "arty" moments. Shoot 'Em Up is just pure fun. Well choreographed gunplay, black wit, a sense of controlled insanity and a length that doesn't overstay it's welcome. Clive Owen is brilliant in the central role, glib and sardonic, while Paul Giamatti matches him scene for scene as the villain. A creative, imaginative, slightly mad little film, slight but very fun.
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