Karl Hertz is the main antagonist of the 2007 action/comedy film Shoot 'Em Up. He is portrayed by Paul Giamatti.
Bio[]
Karl Hertz is a hitman hired by the arms manufacturer Hammerson. He is an intellectual man with a twisted sense of humour and is also a family man, regularly taking calls from his wife while he's on the job. Unlike so many villains, Hertz is not content to just hang back and let the hired goons do all the work and likes to get involved with the action, stating that "Violence is one of the most fun things to watch."
Throughout the film, Hertz and his army of hired thugs are attempting to hunt down and kill a baby under the protection of a vagrant known only as Smith. The baby was born as a result of a secret government plan to produce a child with compatible bone marrow that can save the life of cancer-suffering US Senator Harry Rutledge. Rutledge is campaigning to become the next US President and plans to enforce stricter gun laws that threaten Hammerson's business. Without the child's bone marrow, Rutledge will have no hope of recovery and will never become president, thus destroying his anti-gun campaign.
Hertz and his men make multiple attempts to kill Smith and Baby Oliver, but Smith has a knack for getting out of certain-death situations and Hertz speculates that Smith must have had military black-ops training. No matter what the situation or how many men Hertz sends after him, Smith always gets away and always leaves a trail of bodies in his wake.
Death[]
Towards the end of the film, Smith is finally captured and taken to Hammerson's residence where Hertz tortures the hero by breaking his fingers one by one. Hertz prepares to take a scalpel to Smith's eye when Smith suddenly headbutts him, taking the scalpel and using it to kill Hertz's last remaining henchmen as well as Hammerson. With his fingers broken, Smith is unable to use a gun, but incredibly he manages to shoot Hertz by holding four bullets between his fingers and placing them near the fireplace. The heat from the fire ignites the gunpowder and the rounds are launched from their shells, striking down Hertz. Hertz survives thanks to his bulletproof vest and gets up seconds later as Smith is about to leave. Picking up a gun and wielding it unsteadily, Smith takes aim at Hertz who also raises his own gun. Despite his injuries, Smith is quicker on the trigger and blasts a gaping hole through Hertz's chest, killing him at last.