Every once in a while, a movie comes along that instantly gets branded with cult classic status before anyone’s even had a chance to see the end product. While it backfires in some instances, writer and director Michael Davis’ ludicrous Shoot ‘Em Up lived up to such lofty billing and then some.
Despite stellar reviews from critics and an even more enthusiastic reception from action junkies who could barely believe the insanity they were witnessing unfold onscreen, the gleefully demented and supremely violent shooter failed to recoup its $39 million budget at the box office, only to become a word-of-mouth sensation on home video.
These days, it’s comfortably viewed as one of the genre’s cultiest cult classics to have emerged in the 16 years since its release, with Clive Owen’s stoic rampage of weapon and vegetable-assisted revenge currently tearing the streaming charts a new one. Per FlixPatrol, Shoot ‘Em Up has cracked the HBO Max Top 10 in close to a dozen countries, and it’s the least it deserves.
Wearing its over-the-top nature as a badge of the highest honor, virtually no stones are left unturned by a suitably nonsensical plot that finds Owen’s hard-boiled protagonist defending a lactating prostitute and her newborn infant from a scenery-chewing villain with designs on harvesting the bone marrow of said child in order to save – and prolong – the life of a corrupt and terminally-ill United States senator.
Movies don’t have to make a lick of sense to be fun, and there are few better examples than Shoot ‘Em Up, which positively revels in the fact it’s complete, utter, and glorious nonsense.
