A shamed sniper returns to action after learning of a plot to assassinate the President.
Highly entertaining, supercharged political thriller which sees ex-army sniper Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Whalberg) framed as a patsy in an assassination / government conspiracy involving the cover up of U.S. genocides in Africa. 'Shooter' begins quite unpromisingly with some hackneyed heroics played out with sledgehammer subtly, and even when our man is left behind to die, the story seems to slow down as we fade to the present day and see Swagger duped & recruited to do his 'patriotic duty' by a shady quartet of government villains, led by the Colin Powell-esque Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover successfully playing against type). But what begins as your run-of-the-mill 'Save The President' scenario soon matures into a well paced, and surprisingly well-informed indictment of the evil corporate cabals who run congress. Antoine Fuqa also scores a much needed hit with 'Shooter', for the young director, whose movie career began with a bang after 'The Replacement Killers' and 'Training Day', yet soon fizzled out with 'King Arthur' and risible, pro-military flag waver 'Tears Of Sun', keeps his penchant for 'God Bless America' sentiment down to a minimum. And whilst there is an odd bit of 1950s style propaganda about a sniper KIA, the film itself is sober, direct and firmly rooted in reality, albeit a reality in which we accept the fact that Mark 'Don't Call Him Marky Mark' Whalberg and his mate can wipe out a small army (in a spectacular compound siege sequence) and having trounced a CIA death squad have Swagger come up with the line: "You don't understand; these boys killed my dog" without so much as a smirk. 'Shooter' has plenty of clichés, and though I haven't read any of Stephen Hunter's Bob Lee Swagger books and nor do I have an interest in the mechanics of military hardware/sniping, I'm told 'Shooter' is a decent, though obviously updated, adaptation of his novel 'Point Of Impact". And based on the strength of this picture, I look forward to the continuing adventures of Swagger who, if handled with competence, could be to 'Ex-Military-Man-On-A-Mission' movies, what Jason Bourne became to the spy genre. Mark Whalberg puts in a cool, unsmiling performance as Swagger, Michael Peña also does well as the anxious FBI man who joins him, newcomer Kate Mara is OK, it was nice to see ex-Brit TV presenter Rhona Mitra crop up, Rade Serbedzija is excellent as usual, Elias Koteas is wasted in a henchman role whilst Ned Beatty does his best Dick Cheney impression, as an odious U.S. senator directing the conspiracy.
Its been a while since Hollywood produced a well structured, story driven action film that 'Shooter' pretty much corners the market, and though it appears as if they filmed multiple endings (deciding to go with 'Rambo' ending) its all done with such verve and narrative momentum, that one can't help but have a blast watching it; better than an entire season of '24' and far more complex and rewarding than any recent action movie I can think of. A thinking man's 'Die Hard', 'Shooter' has its target in sight, aims high and frequently hits the mark, so forget King Leonidas and all those '300' quotes, put Bob Lee Swagger on your novelty T-Shirts, for once you've seen this film: "Hit The Napalm" will have a whole new meaning.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Antoine Fuqua (director of TRAINING DAY and THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS) takes on government conspiracies in action/thriller SHOOTER. The film centres on Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg), a former scout sniper who--following a botched operation in Ethiopia--has retired from the marines and become a recluse. Three years later, Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) shows up with two flunkies, trying to convince Swagger to help them thwart a plot to assassinate the president. Honour and duty get the better of him, and Swagger agrees to participate, unaware that he being set up. Now, with the whole world after him, the only people he can trust are the widow of his former partner, Sarah (Kate Mara), and Nick Memphis (Michael Pena), a young FBI agent who refuses to give up investigating the case. Wahlberg, hot on the heels of his Oscar nominated turn in THE DEPARTED, delivers yet another credible performance as a complicated man who had turned his back on society, only to be thrust right back into the middle of it. Glover is solid as his arch-nemesis, a sadistic character who treats the situation as if it were some kind of game. Based on the book POINT OF IMPACT by Stephen Hunter, SHOOTER is a frantic, violent race through the streets of Philadelphia, New York, Kentucky, Washington, DC, and Ethiopia, in search of answers.
Thriller about the making of a Unabomber-type dissident starring Mark Wahlberg. Bob Lee Swagger (Wahlberg) is a former Marine sniper who, three years ago, participated in a failed illegal mission within Ethiopia. Now he finds that the government, or rather certain forces within it, has a vested interest in making him disappear. Living a simple life in a shack in the woods with his dog, he's tried very hard up to now to leave his former life behind but now its game on. A bent CIA operative, Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) appears and asks Swagger to help him foil a plot to kill the president that only he knows about. Furthermore, Johnson ups his credibility by furnishing Swagger a massive arsenal of weaponry with which to do the job. Is this a genuine plot, though, or is Swagger being elaborately set up? And anyway, has Swagger enough patriotism left in him to be coaxed into de-retiring for the sake of a country that's been trying to off him?
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