Jump to content

Shoot 'Em Up (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Estarrol (talk | contribs) at 02:17, 22 March 2010 (Changed Poster from Troll Photo to real one). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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 date
September 7, 2007 (wide)
Running time
86 min.
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
Budget$39,000,000
Box office$26,820,641 (worldwide)

Shoot 'Em Up is a 2007 action comedy film[1], starring Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, and Monica Bellucci. The film was written and directed by Michael Davis and produced by Susan Montford, Don Murphy and Rick Benattar.[2] The film was released on September 7, 2007.

Plot

The film opens as a drifter, known as Smith (Clive Owen), sits at a bus stop eating a carrot and drinking coffee when a pregnant woman busy going into labour passes by. Shortly after, a hitman pursues her and attempts to kill her in a warehouse. Smith manages to save her, but another bunch of assailants arrive on the scene and a shootout ensues. Showing almost no fear, Smith picks up a gun and proves that his weapon skills are next to none.During the conflict, the lady gives birth to a baby boy (later named Oliver) and confronts the second in command Karl Hertz (Paul Giamatti), who praises him for his efforts and decides to "return the favour". While trying to escape having failed to subdue Hertz, the baby's mother is shot dead, which leads Smith to grab the boy and evades his captures. Hertz intends to get him soon enough.

A while later Smith again saves Oliver from an assassination attempt in a public park, after trying to leave him there in hopes of someone being able to adopt the boy. Realising the baby is a prime target Smith takes Oliver to a mammary on tap (lactating brothel) to leave him there with Smith's mistress Donna (Monica Bellucci), but to no avail. Hertz arrives at the brothel a short while later and sadistically tortures her for information with the use of his gun. Smith intervenes and shoots him in the chest.

Smith and Donna begin investigating as to whom wants to kill Oliver, after discovering a vital clue at a metal club and surviving yet another assassination attempt on their lives by a group of military foot soldiers while having sex in their motel room , Smith begins to cripple the competition by causing a shootout in the Hammerson Gun Factory, who just so happens to be Hertz's boss. After escaping and returning to Donna, Smith discovers that Senator Rutledge, who is dying of Bone Marrow Cancer and who also needs Oliver's bone marrow in hope of a donor can provide him with the necessary answer. While flying with Rutledge on a government plane, Smith uncovers Rutledge's perjury and holds him hostage. Hertz and Hammerson arrive and reveal to him that because Rutledge strongly supported gun control and as means of blackmail they killed the surrogate mothers so that Rutledge could negotiate a deal with them by dropping his defense in exchange for a living donor.With caution Smith moves to the fuesolage of the aircraft, shoots Rutledge in the head and jumps off with the aid of a parachute. A few of Hertz's men follow and Smith kills them in mid-air. Go-To-Guy appears and tries to kill Smith, but ends up being carved up by an oncoming helicopter's propellors.

Smith awakens to find Hertz holding him at gunpoint and captures him. In the comfort of Hammerson's mansion, Hertz begins to torture Smith to tell him where Donna and Oliver are hiding, but Smith endures the pain. As a last effort, Hertz intends to carve out Smith's eyes with a scalpel, but Smith takes advantage of the situation and kills Hertz's men and Hammerson while defending himself. Seeing that Smith is incapable of using a firearm due to his broken fingers, Hertz laughs at his fruitless efforts and follows him into a library to finish him off. Whike trying to boost his confidence by asking Smith if he "was dead on" about who Smith was, Smith retorts by asking Hertz to repeat the last bit of the question. Hertz replies by saying:"I said I am Dead" to which Smith stops him and answers: "that part you got right" and severely wounds Hertz by lodging bullets in between his fingers, while holding it near an open fire and reacting to the heat gets shot into Hertz's chest. As a final standoff both Smith and Hertz draw guns and Smith finally kills Hertz and adds the statement: You know what I hate? What I hate is a pussy with a gun in his hand"

Smith then boards a bus not knowing where both Donna and Oliver are. At an ice-cream parlour Smith sits at a table and hears Donna's voice. Turning around he sees Oliver in a baby chair and passionately reunites with Donna. The film ends as a group of robbers enter the store and a disgusted Smith stops them.

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, Ontario, 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

Since July 2007, Shoot 'Em Up was publicized with a guerrilla marketing campaign by London based agency New Media Maze. 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 submachine gun 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]

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] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times highly praised the film and gave it 3.5 stars out of 4, explaining: "I may disapprove of a movie for going too far, and yet have a sneaky regard for a movie that goes much, much farther than merely too far."[19]

As of January 13, 2010, the movie-review aggregating website RottenTomatoes lists Shoot 'Em Up with a "Tomatometer" rating of 67% ("fresh") based on 156 reviews, with an average critic's rating of 6.2/10. The "Top Critics" summary on that site gives the film a 57% ("rotten") rating based on 30 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10.[20]

The film opened in fourth place for its first weekend, earning $5,716,139 from 2,711 theaters. The film has a total worldwide gross of $26,820,641.[21]

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.[22] 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. ^ Debruge, Peter (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. ^ Scott, A.O. (2007-09-07). "Never Mind Those Bullets, a Newborn Needs Rescuing". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  19. ^ Ebert review
  20. ^ "Shoot 'Em Up". RottenTomatoes.com. 2007-09-08. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  21. ^ "Shoot 'Em Up (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  22. ^ "Shoot 'Em Up Caps Blu-ray". IGN. Retrieved 2007-10-25.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Shoot 'Em Up (film).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shoot_%27Em_Up_(film)&oldid=351285456"