Shoot 'Em Up (R, 2007)

Mr. Smith (Clive Owen) delivers a baby during a shootout and ends up the infant's guardian when the mother (Ramona Pringle) is killed. Super-skilled (he was trained by the U.S. military in his secret past), intensely focused, Smith is determined to save the baby, though he knows nothing about how to feed or clothe it (he uses newspapers for diapers and a dirty sock for little Oliver's head). He enlists the only lactating woman he knows, a prostitute named Donna Quintano, or DQ (Monica Bellucci). More worldly wise than her valiant ex-client, DQ goes along for the ride, falling in love with Smith and little Oliver on the way.

Outrageous and antic, Shoot 'Em Up simultaneously spoofs and pays homage to everything from Bugs Bunny to Indiana Jones and James Bond. Smith is so fast and furious during his always-triumphant encounters with bad guys that he's deemed a "wascally wabbit" by the malevolent Mr. Hertz (Paul Giamatti). The pair's antagonism escalates exponentially, accompanied by all manner of gunplay and wild stunts. As Hertz puts it, the back and forth turns into "tit for tat," with each shoot-out, car chase, and torture scene a means for one side or the other to get even.

Of course, no such balance is possible. Every violent act leads to more violence. While the acceleration is demented fun here, the broader context is dire -- as indicated by what turns out to be the villains' awkward motivation: their work for a cadaverous-looking gun manufacturer (Stephen McHattie) and a corrupt U.S. senator/presidential candidate (Daniel Pilon). Both are involved in an imminent decision concerning gun control, but really, they're just distractions from the film's main business, which is shooting and more shooting.