Bag 'em, but don't tag 'em

Hands up, all those who think Clive Owen is a remarkable actor with a keen eye for excellent, quality scripts and movies (think closer, inside man, children of men)? Hands up, all those who think Paul Giamatti proved his talent in the excellent 'Sideways'? So it should come as no surprise that the collaboration of these two fine actors on Michael Davis' 'Shoot 'em up' would be a highly anticipated movie event. It was. If the trailer I'd seen in the weeks leading up to this movie were anything to go by, this was going to be a Tarantino-esque classic.
What this movie proved to me was that Davis is a Tarantino wannabe who is low on the elements that make Tarantino great. Talent, creativity, excellent everyday dialogue, a brilliant script and an intelligent plot are what's lacking in Shoot 'em up. I've watched the worst episodes of 'Bold and Beautiful' and still found them more believable than the crap wasted on film here. It's not just bad directing either - for that, the actors could be forgiven. But for the talent on display here to read the script and still decide to do the movie displays a greed on their part that warrants tarring and feathering. It's inexcusable, and in one foul swoop wipes both these actors off my list of admired performers. All creative beings are afforded a certain licence to manipulate their work for their audience, but you always have to play to and for the audience, and all Davis does is insult this audience. By far, one of the worst movies I've seen this year - and I saw 'Rush Hour 3' and 'Are we done yet?'!!

2/10