Shoot 'em Up - Too much fun for words

I'm lobbying for a new film genre to sit alongside the existing ones such as drama, science-fiction, horror and comedy.  The new category I'm proposing would be 'Snakes on a Plane.' Besides the obvious Samuel L Jackson film, this genre should be populated with films that tell you everything you need to know about them from the title, thus giving you everything you need to know about whether or not you will enjoy them without sitting down to watch. 'Shoot 'em Up' falls into the 'Snakes on a Plane' category perfectly.

The film 'Shoot 'em Up' is about shooting and killing things.  With guns.  And carrots (you'll have to watch the film to see whether I'm being serious about the 'carrots' comment).  A man, Clive Owen eating a carrot incidentally, witnesses some thugs hunting down a clearly distressed pregnant woman.  He just so happens to be possibly the most highly-trained man with a gun in the world - and the perfect person to protect an infant in danger.  From then on he takes on every dispensable thug and paid lackey in the entire city, much to the dismay of head bad-guy, Hertz (Paul Giamatti).

Besides the obvious clue in the title as to what the film is about, the only other thing you really need to know is that it NEVER takes itself seriously. 'Shoot 'em Up' knows that it's ludicrously daft and brilliantly over-the-top and it just gets better and better.  The action/shooting scenes are clearly the high-points and each one attempts to outdo the last, creating battles in places you probably never thought you'd see and ways of using a gun/bullets that will delight anyone with an appreciation for overblown action scenes.

There's a loose plot, but I won't go into it.  It's totally secondary to the gunfights.  However, the film is more than just action - largely thanks to its two main stars.  There's more than a few references to 'Looney Tunes' and Paul Giamatti stands in for the long-suffering Elmer Fudd as he attempts to track down his Bugs Bunny, the mysteriously-titles 'Mr Smith' (Clive Owen).  The two play off each other perfectly and you won't just laugh at how over-the-top the gun scenes are, but also with their constant banter.  There are few bad guys you'll love as much as Paul Giamatti!

If you like your films serious and realistic then steer well clear.  However, if you like tongue-in-cheek and want something to lose yourself in while you leave your brain at the door, then you'll have everything you want here.  If you've also seen either of Jason Statham's 'Crank' films then you'll know roughly the sort of film you're getting here.

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather