Droo
Sep 16th, 2007, 07:44:37 PM
Go to Rotten Tomatoes and read what a number of articles claim, including this snippet from a review from The Times:
It is utter nonsense and completely reprehensible morally. But it’s an outrageous amount of fun.
And the BBC:
Bang, bang you're dead: Clive Owen romps his way through Shoot 'Em Up, an outrageously shoddy, audaciously choreographed exploitation flick that loves the smell of gunpowder in the morning.
And (usually reliable) Channel 4:
A film that would be odious were it not realised with such verve and gleeful, inventive 'Looney Tunes' audacity, and only a trim 86 minutes long.
Please, do yourself a favour and disregard every single opinion of this film which adheres to these perameters. Shoot 'Em Up in trailer format looked like a lot of fun when it is in fact an archaic, blunt, retrograde, offensive piece of nonsense which does nothing but reinforce my agreement with the perception that post-modernism means never having to say you're sorry.
This film is a testament to the idea that as long as a film is being ironic, it is perfectly acceptable to be tasteless, and chauvenistic, and sexist, not to mention mindless and stupid (perhaps I'm over-emphasising with words meaning the same thing but it needs to be done) while at the same time being completely devoid of style or effort. It is not. I've never seen a more appalling response to a film for as long as I've been going the cinema. People were walking out and crying out in frustration. It was such a painful experience.
The action is blatantly over-the-top but not remotely entertaining, I say this because if you have any taste whatsoever you will have already seen The Bourne Ultimatum and have therefore witnessed how real action should be delivered, and this bombardment of bullets, carrots, and blood has been done to death so much by film-makers not trying to parody the genre that it just doesn't even appear witty.
And it isn't. If this film is supposed to be dry, ironic, sharp, or portray any kind of wit at all it fails at every turn. This is Epic Movie with a budget and an older target audience thanks to it's 18 certificate. And in terms of bang for your buck, I walked away irate and offended that I'd spent money to watch this rubbish. Please, please, please, do not fund people who make this kind of tripe by going to see their films after being warned.
Every line, every scene, every shot, every bullet, every character trait is completely loaded with cliché and let them defend themselves all they want with the claim that is all ironic. No. It's not ironic, it is just vile, absolutely vile and without merit. Never before have I forced myself to sleep during a film, and given the lesson learned, I pray I will never have to do it again.
This is cinema at its lowest appealling to the lowest of the lowest common denominator. I'm warning you to save your wallet and your sanity. Go watch Bourne, go watch Knocked Up, watch Atonement or 3:10 to Yuma but please don't waste your well-earned money on this.
I am aware that this is a huge pile of negative waffle but it serves several purposes:
1. The need to share a woeful experience I had to endure.
2. The desire to warn others of this catastrophe.
3. To theraputically purge myself of its memory, by venting and raging.
Now, despite it being 2:40am, I'm going to go watch Children of Men to remind myself that Clive Owen does involve himself in great films despite this frightful lapse in judgement.
It is utter nonsense and completely reprehensible morally. But it’s an outrageous amount of fun.
And the BBC:
Bang, bang you're dead: Clive Owen romps his way through Shoot 'Em Up, an outrageously shoddy, audaciously choreographed exploitation flick that loves the smell of gunpowder in the morning.
And (usually reliable) Channel 4:
A film that would be odious were it not realised with such verve and gleeful, inventive 'Looney Tunes' audacity, and only a trim 86 minutes long.
Please, do yourself a favour and disregard every single opinion of this film which adheres to these perameters. Shoot 'Em Up in trailer format looked like a lot of fun when it is in fact an archaic, blunt, retrograde, offensive piece of nonsense which does nothing but reinforce my agreement with the perception that post-modernism means never having to say you're sorry.
This film is a testament to the idea that as long as a film is being ironic, it is perfectly acceptable to be tasteless, and chauvenistic, and sexist, not to mention mindless and stupid (perhaps I'm over-emphasising with words meaning the same thing but it needs to be done) while at the same time being completely devoid of style or effort. It is not. I've never seen a more appalling response to a film for as long as I've been going the cinema. People were walking out and crying out in frustration. It was such a painful experience.
The action is blatantly over-the-top but not remotely entertaining, I say this because if you have any taste whatsoever you will have already seen The Bourne Ultimatum and have therefore witnessed how real action should be delivered, and this bombardment of bullets, carrots, and blood has been done to death so much by film-makers not trying to parody the genre that it just doesn't even appear witty.
And it isn't. If this film is supposed to be dry, ironic, sharp, or portray any kind of wit at all it fails at every turn. This is Epic Movie with a budget and an older target audience thanks to it's 18 certificate. And in terms of bang for your buck, I walked away irate and offended that I'd spent money to watch this rubbish. Please, please, please, do not fund people who make this kind of tripe by going to see their films after being warned.
Every line, every scene, every shot, every bullet, every character trait is completely loaded with cliché and let them defend themselves all they want with the claim that is all ironic. No. It's not ironic, it is just vile, absolutely vile and without merit. Never before have I forced myself to sleep during a film, and given the lesson learned, I pray I will never have to do it again.
This is cinema at its lowest appealling to the lowest of the lowest common denominator. I'm warning you to save your wallet and your sanity. Go watch Bourne, go watch Knocked Up, watch Atonement or 3:10 to Yuma but please don't waste your well-earned money on this.
I am aware that this is a huge pile of negative waffle but it serves several purposes:
1. The need to share a woeful experience I had to endure.
2. The desire to warn others of this catastrophe.
3. To theraputically purge myself of its memory, by venting and raging.
Now, despite it being 2:40am, I'm going to go watch Children of Men to remind myself that Clive Owen does involve himself in great films despite this frightful lapse in judgement.