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Shoot 'Em Up (film)

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For the video game genre, see Shoot 'em up.
Shoot 'Em Up
Theatrical poster for Shoot 'Em Up
Directed byMichael Davis
Written byMichael Davis
Produced bySusan Montford
Don Murphy
Rick Benattar
StarringClive Owen
Paul Giamatti
Monica Bellucci
Stephen McHattie
Greg Bryk
CinematographyPeter Pau
Edited byPater Amundson
Music byPaul Haslinger
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release dates
September 7, 2007 (wide)
Running time
86 min.
CountryU.S.A.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million

Shoot 'Em Up is a 2007 action/thriller/black comedy[1] film written and directed by Michael Davis (Monster Man) and produced by Susan Montford, Don Murphy and Rick Benattar.[2] The film was released on September 7, 2007.

Plot

The film follows "Mr. Smith" (Clive Owen), a drifter who appears to have an extensive military background and a fondness for carrots who wants nothing more than to be left alone. Smith finds himself embroiled in a complex political conspiracy once he aids a pregnant woman who is being chased by a hitman. After the woman is killed, he takes the baby and goes on the run with a lactating prostitute named Donna (Monica Bellucci). The unlikely family is trailed by the intelligent and ruthless Hertz (Paul Giamatti) and his army of thugs. A plethora of elaborate gunfights ensue, between which Smith pieces together the real story: a United States Senator who strongly supports gun control had been breeding babies for their bone marrow to treat his cancer, and a prominent gun baron has contracted Hertz to kill the babies. After Smith kills the senator he is captured by Hertz who tries to get him to tell where the woman and child are. He soon manages to escape and kill Hertz and returns to the baby and Donna. The film ends with him taking out an unfortunate band of robbers who attempt to rob the Dairy Queen where they are reunited.

Cast

Production

When writer/director Michael Davis's original concept was passed on by movie studios, he put together a 17-minute reel of animated footage, consisting of 17,000 line drawings, in order to give studio heads an idea of how the action scenes would play out. This got the attention of New Line Cinema CEO, Bob Shaye, who approved the project and accepted Davis to direct.[3] After signing Clive Owen and other actors, the film went into production in Toronto, Canada between February 13,2006 and May 8,2006. Though Variety initially reported a planned release during the holiday season of 2006,[4] and initial previews occurred in September of that year,[5] the film was eventually scheduled for release on September 7, 2007. Audience response from a screening at 2007's San Diego Comic-Con was great, however.[6] Multilingual co-star Monica Bellucci dubbed her own voice for the French and Italian releases of the film.[7]

"Bullet proof baby" and other marketing

In the months leading up to the film's release, Shoot 'Em Up was promoted through various subtle means. For example, a promotional poster for the film was inserted into the Calypso Casino online multi-player level of the Rainbow Six: Vegas video game as part of an online game update. It was also promoted in the video game Crackdown in one of the city levels.

Since July 2007, Shoot 'Em Up was publicized with a guerilla marketing campaign by London based agency New Media Maze (designer Adam C Bright, strategist Chris G D Edwards). The campaign included a viral video and website[8] selling bogus items ranging from bullet-proof strollers to riot helmets for infants. A video was released on YouTube in which the company claimed to test the bullet-proof stroller by shooting at it with a submachinegun while a baby was in it.[9] The baby was then taken out of the stroller unharmed. It was all a prank,[10][11] but the campaign was nevertheless taken seriously by global media and the blogging community.[12] For instance, Sweden's biggest evening tabloid Aftonbladet had the story as its lead on their online edition for some time.[13]

In August 2007, national television commercials featuring the song "House of Wolves" by My Chemical Romance began airing.

Reception

Film critics' views on the film were sharply divided. Variety called the movie "violent and vile in equal measure," and "too stylistically audacious to dismiss outright."[14] Hollywood Reporter was more equivocal in its review, saying "Anyone looking for subtlety, character development or layered plotting will be disappointed, but action fans will find plenty to amuse them with this film that makes Hard Boiled look restrained," and that the film is "all very good and undeniably fun...."[15] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised the film (giving it three stars out of four) and called Shoot 'Em Up a "wet dream for action junkies [that] leaves out logic and motivation...."[16] Taking the opposite view, Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one out of four stars, decrying the film's "jolly cruelt[y]," and calling the film "cruddy and vile" and "witless,"[17] and A.O. Scott of the New York Times went even further, calling the film "a worthless piece of garbage."[18]


The film opened in the fourth place position for its first weekend, earning $5,450,000 from 2,108 theaters.[19]

Blu-Ray & DVD release

The movie was released on high-definition Blu-Ray Disc and DVD formats on New Year's Day, January 1, 2008.[20] The HD DVD version of the movie was scheduled to be released shortly after the Blu-ray version, but Warner Bros./New Line's decision to exclusively support Blu-ray has led to the cancellation of all New Line HD DVD titles (along with all Warner Bros. HD DVD titles after May 2008). The Blu-Ray version of Shoot 'Em Up was delayed one week in Canada.[citation needed]

Notes

  1. ^ Belanger, Joseph. Interview: Michael Davis. Ioncinema.com. August 29, 2007.
  2. ^ Shoot 'em Up (2007) - Movie - Review, New York Times, September 7, 2007 (retrieved 2008-04-22)
  3. ^ Shoot 'Em Up at WorstPreviews
  4. ^ Ben Fritz (2005-06-05). "Owen Targets "Shoot"". Variety.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  5. ^ "Quint" (2006-09-14). "Crazy Clive Owen/Paul Giamatti flick, SHOOT 'EM UP, tests! And..." Aintitcoolnews.com. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  6. ^ Henry Ham (2007-07-27). "Shoot 'Em Up Brings Down the House at Comic-Con". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  7. ^ Monica Bellucci's Balancing Act
  8. ^ bulletproofbaby.net
  9. ^ Bounty.com Mother tests out her 'bullet-proof' design
  10. ^ The Daily Telegraph Australia Bulletproof babywear, a viral marketing gag
  11. ^ Raising Kids Bullet-proof Baby Buggies
  12. ^ DollyMix.com Mums gone mad
  13. ^ Aftonbladet Template:Sv icon Här skjuter hon - på sin baby
  14. ^ Peter Debruge (2007-07-31). "Shoot 'Em Up". Variety. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  15. ^ Frank Scheck (2007-08-20). "Shoot 'Em Up". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  16. ^ Peter Travers (2007-09-04). "Shoot 'Em Up". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
  17. ^ Michael Phillips (2007-09-07). "Shoot 'Em Up Misfires With A Hollow Point". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  18. ^ A.O. Scott (2007-09-07). "Never Mind Those Bullets, a Newborn Needs Rescuing". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  19. ^ "Shoot 'Em Up (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
  20. ^ "Shoot 'Em Up Caps Blu-ray". IGN. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
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