Shoot 'em Up (movie)

Shoot 'Em Up
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Davis
Produced by	Susan Montford Don Murphy Rick Benattar
Written by	Michael Davis
Starring	Clive Owen Paul Giamatti Monica Bellucci Stephen McHattie
Music by	Paul Haslinger
Cinematography	Peter Pau
Edited by	Peter Amundson
Production company	Montford/Murphy
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date	September 7, 2007 (2007-09-07)
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$39 million
Box office	$26.8 million

Shoot 'Em Up is a 2007 American action film written and directed by Michael Davis. It stars Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci and Stephen McHattie. The film follows Smith (Owen), a drifter who rescues a newborn from being killed by assassin Hertz (Giamatti) and his henchmen. Smith flees from the gang, enlisting the help of prostitute Donna Quintano (Bellucci) to keep the baby safe as he unravels the conspiracy.

According to Davis, the idea for the film came about after he saw a gun-battle scene from John Woo's critically acclaimed Hard Boiled in which Chow Yun-fat rescues newborn babies from gangsters. Desiring to make an action film centering on guns, he expanded the idea into a screenplay in 2000, accompanied by an animated footage with 17,000 drawings for the action scenes. After a deal with New Line Cinema, filming began in Toronto which was overseen by cinematographer Peter Pau.

Before its September 2007 release, the film was previewed at that year's San Diego Comic-Con and received a positive response. Despite a mediocre commercial performance (recouping less than its budget), some critics gave the film a positive review—including Roger Ebert, who described it as "some kind of legend in the murky depths of extreme action".

At a bus stop in a rough part of town, a named Smith sees a pregnant woman on the verge of giving birth while fleeing a hitman. Following them into a warehouse, Smith kills the hitman by stabbing him in the face with a carrot and retrieves the woman's pistol. As more thugs arrive the woman goes into labor, and Smith delivers her baby boy during a shootout. Pursued by head assassin Hertz, the woman is shot and killed; Smith narrowly escapes with the newborn.

Leaving the baby in a park, Smith hopes someone will adopt the child but a passing woman is killed with a shot from Hertz's sniper rifle. Realizing that Hertz is trying to kill the baby, Smith saves him and tries unsuccessfully to leave him with a prostitute named Donna Quintano. Hertz soon arrives at the brothel and tortures Donna for information; Smith returns and kills his henchmen. After a brief confrontation in the hallway, Smith shoots Hertz and leaves with Donna and the baby. Having secretly worn a bulletproof vest, though, Hertz is alive albeit wounded.