September 8, 2007 -- This is an intense action movie that doesn't make much sense, but it is short, and the fast pace and high energy level makes it go by so fast that you don't really notice the holes in the plot until it is over. In fact, the plot is so silly it is more of a cartoon, a spoof on action movies. In one scene a character suddenly starts talking about action film clichés and how to avoid them. The film is clearly having some fun with the genre.

At the center of the story is the quirky carrot-chomping hero, the mysterious Mr. Smith (played by Clive Owen of “Closer”). Smith is sitting at a bus stop at night, chewing on a raw carrot (he actually says “What's Up Doc?” at one point in the film, and unconvincingly kills a bad guy with a carrot), when a pregnant woman runs by, pursued by a thug with a gun. As the thug is about to shoot the woman, the unarmed Smith intervenes and kills the thug. More thugs show up and the chase is on. Smith protects the woman, who gives birth, and later ends up protecting the baby when the woman is killed. He finds time along the hectic chase to do some detective work and find out who is trying to kill the baby. The leader of the bad guys is quirky, short-tempered hit man Hertz (Paul Giamatti of “Sideways”). He's been hired to kill the mother and child because of some elaborate conspiracy involving politicians, bone marrow, and gun control. Like a kung-fu action film, the plot is really beside the point. The plot is just there to connect the action scenes.

The action scenes are so silly they are funny. In one scene, the baby is on a kind of merry-go-round thing in a park and both Smith and Hertz are shooting at the spinning contraption. Hertz (who has to keep taking cell phone calls from his wife about his son's impending birthday party) is trying to kill the baby and Smith is trying to make the gizmo spin faster so Hertz can't hit the target. In another scene Smith and a bunch of bad guys jump out of a plane and are shooting at each other while sky diving. In another scene, people slide along the floor, or on rollers while in a gunfight. Smith rigs up a whole bunch of Rube Goldberg-type gun-firing contraptions in an impossibly short amount of time to kill a whole slew of bad guys in a gun factory. There are a lot of shoot out scenes and they are all silly, hyperkinetic and imaginative. Monica Bellucci (“The Brothers Grimm”), who plays a lactating hooker, Donna Quintano, provides some sexy interludes in the film. Giamatti has fun chewing up the scenery in this action-filled time-waster, while Owen stays cool. He only gets angry when drivers don't use their turn signals. The movie is directed with verve and style by writer-director Michael Davis. This movie has got both sex and violence. What more do you want? A plot that makes sense? You either take what you get, or leave it. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2007 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .