Blu-ray Review: Shoot ‘Em Up
By
Jon Liu
Video Format: 2.35:1 1080p
Audio Formats: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Starring: Clive Owens, Monica Bellucci, Paul Giamatti
Directed by: Michael Davis
Release Date: January 1, 2008
General
A mysterious Mr. Smith(Owens) comes across a lady just about to give birth and who is also being chased by a group of hitmen led by Hertz(Giamatti). Smith is able to save her only to have her die right after she gives birth. Now with a baby to care for he enlists the help of a lactating prostitute (Bellucci) to take care of the newborn. In order to find out what is going on and why those men were so interested in the mother and her baby, the three of them must set out and confront the hitmen head-on.
Tech Specs
Video: The gritty look of the film and characters is coupled very well by the amount of detail that this movie retains. Detail levels and resolution for this film are incredibly high. Close up shots of each individual character reveals their imperfections. In fact, clarity and detail was so high that there was even an instance in the movie where the fake goatee on Paul Giamatti was clearly distinguishable. Unfortunately, this is byproduct of such high resolutions and this will force filmmakers to give closer attention to things like this. The color palette of the film is very bland. The only color that remains vibrant throughout the film is red, mainly to emphasize blood. Black levels in this movie are very good and help lend to the wonderful contrast in this film. Very light film grain is apparent throughout, and it definitely helps the give this movie the gritty feeling that filmmakers intend.
Audio: One word sums up this audio mix. Chaotic. With the amount of gun-firing action sequences one cannot expect anything less. I am very pleased that New Line has opted for a 7.1 mix because this film makes abundant use of each channel. With the combination of gunfire, things constantly breaking and exploding, environmental effects, each speaker gets their fair share of work. Dynamic range is just about as wide as you will ever get. From high frequency effects like glass shattering to the deep low frequency impact of gunfire, all remain very vivid. With all that is going on, dialog still remains clear and intelligible throughout.
Extras
In terms of extras, we have both an audio commentary and a video commentary, both of which run the length of the film. There’s also a set of animatics, deleted scenes, three trailers for the film itself, and a making-off documentary. It’s good to see more Blu-ray discs getting picture-in-picture commentaries like this release. Though, if your Blu-ray player isn’t BD-Java 1.1 compliant, this feature will seem somewhat moot.
Overall Impressions
“What’s with the freakin’ Carrots?!” I found myself asking this questions a handful of times throughout the movie. Odd? Absolutely. But this is just what the movie is like. I really like Clive Owens, Monica Bellucci, and Paul Giamatti, but I really did not like this film at all. The movie was just excessively over-the-top in every sense of the term. The plot line had me scratching my head, the dialog had me laughing, and the action sequences just had me rolling my eyes. Normally I find it easy to sit back and enjoy the ride, for most movies, but I don’t think there’s any believable point in this movie. Still, if you are looking for reference quality sound and video, this film will surely not disappoint.
Hopefully I'll like it a little more than you but if not I will not be out much selling it.
Linear Mode
