Shoot 'Em Up (2007)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Michael Davis

Writer (WGA):

Michael Davis (written by)

Release Date:

7 September 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Just another family man making a living.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Bus | Shootout | Rescue | Heavy Metal

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Ireland:18 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #43319) | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:R | Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Argentina:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Malaysia:18SG | Philippines:R-13 | Sweden:15 | New Zealand:R18 | Taiwan:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Brazil:16 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Toronto Film Studios, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

In Children of Men (2006), the Clive Owens character also delivers a baby in an awkward situation.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Mr. Smith and Donna bring baby food for the newborn during the days that he is hidden in the tank. A newborn baby does not eat solid food, ever, only breast milk or formula.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Pong (1972) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Ride of the Valkyries

Shoot 'Em Up: The most fun I have had in a movie theater since Grindhouse

I had been looking forward to this movie for months, so walking in, I had somewhat high expectations. Walking out, I felt very satisfied and that I had gotten more than my money's worth.

You are going to be hard-pressed to find a movie more over the top than Shoot 'Em Up. What Michael Davis does here is take every action movie cliché (i.e. firing two guns while jumping through the air, shooting guns out of speeding cars, etc.) and takes it to a whole new level entirely. It works namely because the violence here is just so creative. Sure, it defies all logic most of the time, but I was laughing and having a rip-roaring time throughout.

Clive Owen is perfectly cast as the carrot-chomping, gun-toting smart aleck hero and has no shortage of cheesy puns (that score big laughs). The rest of the cast does well, but really, it's Clive's show.

The "plot" is pretty much non-existent other than about a half dozen scenes of slightly forced dialogue. The purpose behind these scenes is more to give the audience a couple of minutes to catch it's collective breath between action scenes than it is to develop an actual story. And really, if you went to this movie expecting an in-depth character drama, you picked the wrong film.

At a little under an hour and a half, Shoot 'Em Up successfully delivers a perfect dosage of action, guns and puns without overstaying it's welcome. I'll be sure to see it at least a couple more times while it is still in theaters.

Plus, it has Mötley Crüe's, "Kickstart my Heart". What more could you ask for?