The Return of 80s Action: Shoot ‘Em Up
The 80s were an era in filmmaking that delved into pure ridiculousness, at least when it came to action movies. Movies like Rambo, Commando (and every other Arnold movie), Robocop, Roadhouse and countless other movies were filled with over-the-top violence and one-liners that would make any person shake their head, but also laugh at the same time. Shoot ‘Em Up brings back that type of moviemaking, with a bunch of great actors to boot. Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, and Monica Bellucci bring a surprising amount of star power and acting chops to a totally ludicrous movie.
With this movie, Clive Owen just lifts his badass factor even higher. He hates (just like Bachy), owns guys in ways I never could have imagined, spits out Arnold-like one-liners, and has Monica Bellucci’s gorgeous tits squished up against him. Paul Giamatti, whom I wouldn’t expect to be in a movie like this, plays Elmer Fudd to Owen’s Bugs Bunny and does a great job of making you hate him. Meanwhile, Monica Bellucci just does what she does best — looks hot.
One of the best things about Shoot ‘Em Up is that not only is the action unbelievable, the plot matches it in its preposterousness. It involves a U.S. Senator, bone marrow harvesting, and a major gun manufacturer. Not to mention all the outrageousness strewn throughout the movie that I won’t mention here.
Shoot ‘Em Up is basically just this year’s Crank, only with more accomplished actors, more gunfights, less awful CGI, and a better soundtrack. (To be fair, I also enjoyed Crank, and it was probably funnier.) Any movie that kicks off with an action sequence set to “Breed” by Nirvana is bound to be awesome. I recommend this movie to any self-respecting male 15-35.
Unfortunately, America has already failed. Hard. Shoot ‘Em Up only garnered $5.4 million this weekend, not helped any by being shown in only 2,108 theaters, with Balls of Fury being in 3,475 theaters. The #1 movie, 3:10 to Yuma (which we were going to see, but we didn’t want to pay $12.50 for Director’s Hall tickets), only made $15 million, and was also shown in less theaters than the aforementioned Balls of Fury. That is disgusting. On the other hand, it’s nice to see The Bourne Ultimatum is still in over 3,000 theaters, holding the #5 spot after over a month. Word of mouth has no doubt helped that movie have the incredible legs it has displayed.
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