New Line Cinema’s panel started off with a few clips from the darkly comic actioner Shoot ‘Em Up, starring Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, and Monica Bellucci. Inspired by a scene from John Woo’s Hardboiled, Owen plays the ultimate tough guy who finds himself entrusted to protect the most innocent thing of all – a newborn child. The opening scene has Owen deliver the baby in the midst of a gunfight (he severs the umbilical cord by shooting it), and the action only ramps up from there.

Writer/director Michael Davis is a self-proclaimed James Bond geek, a guy who has been “living and breathing action movies since I was a kid.” When he had finished all the Ian Fleming novels, Davis started writing his own – in the 7th grade. So it’s safe to say he’s the right man for the job.

Giamatti makes for a slightly unconventional villain, but pairs well with the deadpan Owen, as the witty one-liners fly as fast as the bullets they accompany. From what I can gather from the clips, this movie figures to be a serious force at the box office, with its completely over-the-top action scenes and wry sense of humor. Sort of like everything Smokin' Aces wished it was.

Given the enthusiastic response from the crowd (many of whom had been shown a screening of the film the night before), Shoot ‘Em Up is in a prime position to capitalize on some serious Comic-Con buzz, much like 300 did the year before.

If you want to check out some of the animatics that Davis used to sell the film, you can see them here.