Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Film review

'Shooter' mainly misses the mark

The film's focus on a brave man's clash with corrupt political power seems more like an exercise in overkill when the bullets stop flying.

By Philip Booth
Published March 22, 2007

Uh-oh. The military-industrial complex is at it again. But a handsome, chiseled fellow pointedly named Bob Lee Swagger is around to launch his own World War III against the evil, lying government baddies with greed, power and pride at heart.

Cue incredible escapes, skyscraping fireballs, an endless supply of bullets emanating from machine guns, rifles and pistols, and an absurdly high death count.

Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) demonstrates a brand of righteousness-fueled bloodlust not seen on screen since the days when Rambo walked the jungles and ruled the box office.

Wahlberg, nominated for an Academy Award for his funny, hard-edged presence in last year's The Departed, has the thankless task of carrying the silly action picture Shooter on his broad shoulders. With any luck, the talented actor's career won't be wounded by the collateral damage.

Shooter is yet another disappointment from Antoine Fuqua, whose edgy Training Day (2001) was followed by the letdowns of Tears of the Sun and King Arthur.

Shooter, loosely adapted from the Stephen Hunter novel Point of Impact, has an intriguing back story meant to resonate with those opposed to U.S. military intervention in foreign trouble spots (yes, the Iraq situation is clearly a reference point).

Swagger, an expert Marine sniper, is picking off enemy forces during an Ethiopian conflict when his best friend is struck down.

Fast forward several years to the present: Swagger and his dog are tucked away in a mountain cabin. The burned-out shooter passes the time surfing the Web and reading the 9/11 Commission report. Retired colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover), joined by several other mysterious government agents, approaches Swagger with a request couched in patriotic terms: Johnson wants the gunman to come out of retirement to help foil a plot to kill the president.

Wahlberg does the best he can with the script, Glover is nicely menacing and it's a kick to see Ned Beatty pop up as a corrupt senator, uttering gems such as "The truth is what I say it is."

Thanks to plot twists we won't give away, Swagger becomes a wanted man, relentlessly pursued by thousands of law enforcement officials. He's on a revenge crusade, enraged by the government's cover-up of a genocide. His only allies are his late Marine buddy's ex-girlfriend (Kate Mara), a sympathetic rookie FBI agent (Michael Pena) and an attractive FBI insider (Rhona Mitra).

But why does Swagger keep going? "I don't think you understand," he explains after offing a batch of baddies. "Those boys killed my dog."

Review

Shooter

Grade: C+

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Pena, Danny Glover, Kate Mara, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra and Ned Beatty

Screenplay: Jonathan Lemkin

Rating: R; graphic violence, profanity

Running time: 121 min.

[Last modified March 21, 2007, 11:20:30]