Apparently this movie has been receiving conflicting reviews - peculiar because I think it's ruddy great! The entire film is very obviously tongue-in-cheek, yet semi-serious in content and violence. Massively over the top in pretty much every scene, the characters and actors cast as them were brilliant. Clive Owen was perfect, I really think he would make a superb James Bond. Paul Giamatti is my favourite actor/person so it goes without saying that he stole the show. As for Monica Belluci, I think she's a great actor and pardon me but she's god damn sexy as hell in my male, red-blooded opinion. I thought they all gelled in their roles and I enjoyed every minute of it. More like this please.

Sorry, but I'm giving this a 2. The plot seems right out of the politically motivated mind of anti-2nd amendment hack, Michael Bloomberg. ...complete with all the clichés you'd expect from a foaming at the mouth leftist. The irony is despite the non-stop anti-gun rhetoric, it's a good guy with a gun that saves the day. If you have a strong stomach for political tripe, and if you liked Sin City's over the top comic book style you might be entertained.. I was not. The villains were unbelievable as were the heroes...I couldn't wait for it to be over.

I opted to watch this movie because I just got through watching another Clive Owen movie: "Intruders". "Intruders" was the third Clive Owen movie I'd seen and I thought that all three of them were excellent so let me see what else he's done.One thing is for sure... this movie is not to be taken seriously, not in the least bit. This is pure action junkie stuff. No real plot, no substantive dialog, no character development, not even realistic action. I mean, who kills people with carrots? Because they made the movie overtly satirical and over-the-top it made it somewhat more enjoyable, but honestly I'm too old for this type of movie. This movie is probably ripe for the 18-25 male demographic. An orgy of sex, violence, a little heavy metal and terrible one-liners. "Shoot 'Em Up" was replete with poor bad guy aim, high bad guy body count, Mythbusters type stunts, spontaneous sex, appalling puns and a baby. Paul Giamatti offered some nice comic relief, Monica Bellucci some nice eye candy and Clive Owen some nice gun play. Those were the only redeeming qualities of this teenagers fantasy.

WARNING: This movie is not for the faint of heart. Smith (Clive Owen), a war veteran and former shooting champion, protects a baby and a prostitute named (Monica Bellucci) from two squadrons of goons working for an arms manufacturer and a US Senator, who's running for President on a hard nosed gun control control platform. The baby boy, named Oliver by Smith, was conceived as part of an illegal cloning operation. Smith and Donna fall in love and form a paternal bond with Oliver. Smith learns that Oliver's birth was originally part of a plan to provide Sen. Rutlidge (Daniel Pilon), a Democratic Presidential candidate running on a strong gun control platform, with a bone marrow donor. Smith just came across at the right place and time in order to prevent Oliver from being killed with the other mothers and children in the clinic. Karl Hertz, the leader of the arms manufacturer's espionage crew, is trying to eliminate the baby so he can theoretically prevent the supposed (and far fetched) repeal of the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-the right to bear arms. Operating on this premise, I suppose is the license for the ultra-violent gun fights, which are pretty fun, and the sickening fetish humor. I never considered how many gross jokes and script ideas could from the idea of inserting a gun into a strange place. The needless sexualization of the gun violence in this repugnant fashion may be the writer and director's idea of advocating on behalf of gun control advocates but it just doesn't work. The macho displays, stylized violence and sexual humor are just a bad combo by the end.This film wants be like Millar vehicles Wanted or Kick-Ass, which have done a better job of combining humor with ultra-violence. Even the cult action comedy, Crank-which mixes ultra-violence and strong sexual content, doesn't come across as so repugnant. I guess it's the mainly the sadism and the extreme risk posed to even a fictional child that keep me from actually liking this film.