Shoot `em down - DVD

Movie: Gangler and amateur screenwriter Sasha (Andrius Ziurauskas) and his men plan the perfect heist on a drug mule. Wearing police uniforms, they plan to simply take the drugs from the competition and then get rich off of them. Too bad that the coup goes wrong and Sasha not only loses his two accomplices, but also has the courier chained to the drug case on the cheek. But that's not all: the hitmen Max (Ramunas Rudokas) and Sylvestras (Kestutis Jakstas) of all people are supposed to retrieve the suitcase with the valuable goods. And Max in particular is not having a good time at the moment, as his wife has thrown him out on the street after a dispute over a breast enlargement. And Sylvestras has been tempted to have sex with a married woman - which he categorically refuses. And so there is plenty of discussion between the two killers, which, however, must not distract them from their real mission - because that could cost them both dearly.

Shoot 'em down has despite the very similar title and the almost identically designed cover motif nothing to do with the Clive Owen thriller Shoot 'em up. Rather, the action fun from Lithuania, which was a huge box office hit in its homeland, takes its cues more from films like Pulp Fiction with its convoluted storytelling and extensive dialogue about the really important things in this world, like silicone breasts and adultery.

That level Shoot 'em down admittedly doesn't reach, for that some of the dialogues just seem too strained cool and some of the quite macabre gags overshoot the mark as well. Still, the quirky characters and the neatly staged action interludes offer enough entertainment value to overlook some of the weaknesses. Ramunas Rudokas in particular provides some very amusing moments as the killer in the bathrobe.

The convoluted narrative form may seem a bit tiring at the beginning. But when a very nice gag is revealed at the end just because of this kind of staging, it becomes clear that director Emilis Velyvis really did a good job. Because although the story in itself is not really particularly original, the non-linear narrative provides the one or other successful moment of surprise, which significantly increases the entertainment value of the film.

Shoot 'em down may shamelessly borrow from other and better representatives of the genre. But it does so well and entertainingly enough to provide just under 80 minutes of whimsical fun of the slightly bloodier kind. And that's exactly what makes this hit movie from Lithuania: well worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Since only a data-reduced press sample was available for the test, no rating can be given about the final picture and sound quality at this point.

Extras: Except for trailers, there are no extras to be found here.

Conclusion: Shoot 'em down is an amusing thriller comedy that doesn't quite reach the level of its obvious predecessors like Pulp Fiction, but still manages to please with some nicely offbeat ideas. If you like bloody entertainment of the more fun kind, you can definitely take a look here!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp