Shooter

Last week I came across the movie Shooter, starring Mark Wahlberg, playing on tv so I set it to record to the DVR. Shooter is a great action thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat through the whole movie from some of the witty dialogue to the massive explosions. Wahlberg plays Bob Lee Swagger, which by the way is a great name for a movie character, a top notch marksmen living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of an assassination plot to kill the president. Unfortunately, he is double crossed and framed for the attempt. He goes on the run to track and find the real killer and more importantly why he was setup. This helps Shooter to me a smart, engaging and all out enjoyable action flick that never pulls its punches and manages to pull off surprises in a movie where the audience expects surprises when they are least expected.

Shooter twists and turns with a conspiracy that is convincing to the audience, but unfortunately the writers take the wasy and whimpy way out by drawing international oil interests into the plot. It would have been nice to see the writers come up with a more origianl reason other then oil. This though is not as much of a drawback as it may have been in another film because the rest of the film is as solid as can be. The movie gives the viewer a unique perspective as to what it would be like to be in the shoe's of a sniper, as well as the mindset one has to have to be as accurate as Swagger.

Antoine Fuqua is no stranger to directing movies where the hero is facing a situation that is against all odds. While you can see his earlier influences creep in at times, making it a little familiar territory. There are many sweeping shots that tried to show the grandeur of the scenes and make this into more of an epic movie. Set action shots take priority throughout this movie, which relegate the character development to minimal to fit the time between scenes.

The supporting roles are played maginificently to compliment Wahlberg. In particular, Michael Pena as the rookie FBI who is caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and against his wishes, training, protocols and forms becomes an important ally to Wahlberg's Swagger.

Shooter is an action fan's dream, and is a great guilt trip of watching a hero go up against unsurmountable odds, mopping up the scum with relative ease. Giving us the standard action movie with the usual thrills and spills. With the great enjoyment of this movie I am going to give it a three buckets of popcorn out of five.

-The Movie Man-