Shoot 'Em Up (2007)

A man named Mr. Smith delivers a woman's baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen.

Director:

Michael Davis

Writer:

Michael Davis

Stars:

Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci, Paul Giamatti

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clive Owen	...	Smith
Paul Giamatti	...	Hertz
Monica Bellucci	...	Donna Quintano
Stephen McHattie	...	Hammerson
Greg Bryk	...	Lone Man
Daniel Pilon	...	Senator Rutledge
Sidney Mende-Gibson	...	Baby Oliver
Lucas Mende-Gibson	...	Baby Oliver
Kaylyn Yellowlees	...	Baby Oliver
Ramona Pringle	...	Baby's Mother
Julian Richings	...	Hertz's Driver
Tony Munch	...	Man Who Rides Shotgun
Scott McCord	...	Killer Shot in Behind
Wiley M. Pickett	...	1st Killer (as Wiley Pickett)
Stephen R. Hart	...	Club Bouncer

Storyline

Late at night, in an unnamed U.S. city, a solitary man sits at a bus stop. A pregnant woman runs by, pursued by a man with a gun. With reluctance, the man at the bus stop rescues her and assists with the baby's delivery, while additional pursuers fire at them, including the gang's particularly nasty leader, an intuitive man named Hertz. Our hero, known only as Smith, determines to save the child and find out why Hertz wants the baby dead. At a local bordello, he tries to employ a lactating hooker to watch the child, but things quickly escalate, and this makeshift family is soon on the run. Heavy metal music calms the baby. Why? A laboratory, gun factory, and presidential campaign all figure in Smith's quest for the child's safe deliverance.

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Plot Keywords:

gun | baby | night | shootout | hero | 

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Taglines:

No name, no past, nothing to lose.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong bloody violence, sexuality and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [France] New Line Cinema [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

7 September 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Feu à volonté

Filming Locations:

Toronto Film Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$39,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,716,554, 9 September 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$12,807,139

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,096,824, 31 December 2007

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema,Angry Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After he misses a shot at the playground, Paul Giamatti's character says "fuck me sideways". Giamatti was one of the lead actors in Sideways (2004).

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Goofs

In the shootout at Smith's house, the lighting changes dramatically from pitch black outside, to broad daylight.

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Quotes

[first lines]
1st Killer: You're dead, bitch!
[walks past Smith]
1st Killer: What the hell you looking at?

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Crazy Credits

The New Line Cinema logo, a film frame, gets film-perforated with bullet holes.

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Shoot 'Em Up/Eastern Promises/Fierce People/The Brothers Solomon/In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)

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Soundtracks

Ace of Spades
Written by Lemmy (as Ian Kilmister), Fast Eddie Clarke (as Edward Clarke) and Phil 'Philthy Animal' Taylor (as Philip Taylor)
Performed by Motörhead
Courtesy of Sanctuary Records

User Reviews

Gun Porn At Its Best

I wasn't really sure what to make of this movie before I went to the advanced screening. I heard from a friend of mine at the Chicago Tribune (she's female, and you'll see why that matters in a second) and she said, "It was so stupid! It was like, BANG BANG BANG, EXPLETIVE EXPLETIVE EXPLETIVE, BANG BANG BANG! Then gallons of blood and we move on." For some reason, the little boy in me that loved the scene in Predator where all of the soldiers shoot at open woods for a complete minute, got very excited. She wasn't kidding, either, that's just what this movie was. Don't worry about the plot, it's not really a concern. Don't worry about the script either, the lines are so over the top and shallow that you know a man wrote this script without allowing anyone to comment on it.

At the same time, this movie is just plain fun. You will find yourself laughing from the moment the movie starts to the ending (which you won't be glancing at your watch while waiting for). There are funny lines, funny situations, and stuff that is so impossible in the real world that you can't help but chuckle. Various moments during the film, I found myself applauding along with the audience, maybe not for the film, but for how writer/director Michael Davis got our hero out of another situation.

The directing, as opposed to the writing, was done very well, especially for a movie like this. If you take the directing too seriously, the script won't work, which is probably why Michael Davis did both. Clive Owen delivers another strong performance, adapting to the cheesy script and outrageous events like a participant in a prank or gag. Monica Bellucci plays the most serious role in the film, and still takes to mocking her life and situation in this movie like the rest of them. My favorite character would still have to be the sly Paul Giamatti, who is given some pretty crazy situations himself but they are coupled with the only lines of any intelligence (or longer than about four words).

By the end of this movie, I was having a lot of fun watching a plot unfold that I didn't really care about. That doesn't deter the film, though, because it's kind of like a stunt show, you're not really concerned with the story. I loved it and, apparently, so did most of the audience. It really reminded me of seeing, well, a live action movie that was more like a video game (we even have coordinated colors for the costumes of the "bad guys" in the various "levels"). I'd like to use this film as an example to my (former) favorite critic Roger Ebert as a perfect example of how video games can be construed in the same light as video games, because Roger, this is clearly a movie made by a large video game fan.