Rating: 8.5 / 10

No matter what criteria you use to judge a good action movie, “Shoot Em Up” delivers.

The plot is almost non-existent, and the characters are not wasting any time with backstory or emotions. I would estimate that 85 percent of this film is set in the middle of a gunfight.

And when you examine that 85 percent, you will find about half of those gunfights feature Clive Owen shooting people while holding a baby. How awesome is that?

Statistically, there was a larger percentage of gunfight scenes in this movie than there were fight scenes in the movie “Fight Club.” There are also multiple deaths involving carrots.

One big problem with action movies is that they get bogged down with details such as accuracy, motives and, if Michael Bay is directing, a completely unrelated subplot.

However, “Shoot Em Up” is different.

Clive Owen is awesome, and Paul Giamatti is better now than he could ever be at a wine tasting. Because there is almost no plot, even events that are incredibly unrealistic (such as a skydiving shoot out scene) do not seem so strange.

The bottom line is that “Shoot Em Up” is an action film that does not take itself seriously. If you like movies where you can take the genre for what it is worth and laugh at some stupidity, then grab yourself some carrots now and watch “Shoot Em Up.”

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