Overrated. Finally saw this hyped and praised movie. Boy, was I disappointed. People really should watch a movie made before 2003 or simply raise the bar a little.
Shoot 'Em Up probably tries to be a western Hong Kong "heroic bloodshed". As much as I hate to sound like thousands of Woo-fan boy bromides: You really should rent Hard Boiled or The Killer instead. Though, Shoot 'Em Up does share something with those movies: the sometimes embarrassing humor and dialogue.
What went wrong? The characters are cliché: Giamatti is the post-Sopranos (or rather post-Grosse Point Blank) mafia hit-man, Owen's character is the mysterious modern cowboy whose character relies on the fact the viewer has seen Sin City (he plays a similar character here, Sin City is a movie based on a comic book and Shoot 'Em Up shares that feature), Bellucci is the standard hooker with a heart of gold. While this is an action movie and weak characterization is the hallmark of a no-brainer, this movie upright insults the viewer. It's not like all the great action movies only had good action.
At this point, you probably think I'll say something redeeming about the action. Alas, I won't. The action is either boring (I think everyone has seen someone being shot on the screen by now, it's not like you can do it endlessly without starting to, like, repeat yourself), cheap (i.e. no long shots, no amazing choreography) or the worst: glossed over. There are way too many edits, it's hard to keep track of what is happening during the action. A good action movie should make your heart race, not cause a seizure.
Let me get back to Sin City. That was an enjoyable movie. It also was stylish and, well, mostly black. Shoot 'Em Up is just mostly black or at least dark greyish blue. See, that's what makes a movie "edgy". Also, a good way to make a movie "edgy" are these really cool and cynical one-liners. Really, if you never respected those guys responsible of all of the great quips like "He's dead tired" etc., watch this one. Sheesh.
Also, the movie tries to be even more edgy with some tastelessness that serves no purpose. And isn't that tasteless, considering Google Image Search and a few unfortunate typos should have ruined the collective innocence by now. Or, maybe the movie was trying to be funny. Please don't try to be funny, movie.
The bottom line is that the movie is exactly what is wrong with these kind of movies in the year 2007. Why three well respected actors got in this mess?