Shooter has all the trappings of the classic Hollywood action blockbuster. A proven action director in Antoine Fuqua (of “Training Day fame), a solid cast with Mark Wahlberg in the gun-toting lead role, some anti-establishment politics, a juicy Hollywood budget, and more explosions and head-shots than you could shake a stick at.
The plot also closely follows the tried-and-tested action formula. After a botched US military operation in Africa, the army s top sniper Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg), who watched his partner and best friend die in his arms, has retired and lives as a recluse high up in the American wilderness.
With only his dog, a laptop and a fridge full of beer for company, Swagger spends his days frolicking around the mountains hunting and shooting stuff with his sniper rifle, before returning to his cabin to scour the internet for conspiracy theories on US government activity. That is until government agents arrive one day asking him to take part in one.
After Swagger accepts and – would you know it – is deceived once again by the corrupted higher echelons of the American government, the film launches into high-speed chases, covert operations and a serious amount of bloodshed. Make no mistake – by the time you leave the cinema, more bodies will have mounted onscreen than there were pieces of popcorn in your tub on entering.
Mindless maybe, but the film does comprise some genuinely gripping action sequences, fully utilizing its hefty budget.
On his quest to prove his innocence Swagger reunites (in more ways than one) with his late partner s wife Sarah Fenn (Kate Mara), and befriends Nick Memphis (Michael Pena of “Babel and “Crash ), the FBI agent who knows too much.
Despite the rudimentary script (which to be fair contains some smashing one-liners), the characters manage to form a believable onscreen rapport, Michael Pena in particular adding to a growing list of impressive performances.
Mark Wahlberg, though, who so impressed with medium-sized roles in “The Basketball Diaries or more recently “The Departed , struggles somewhat as the lead in “Shooter .
Together they play the underdogs in a battle with the powers-that-be who, from their Ivory towers, dispose of anyone that stands in the way of their profiteering. Oh, who do I have to kill now? groans one Senator, in a comically Southern drawl.
“Shooter is all about injustice and the futility of railing against the man , and giving America back to the little guy, if only for an hour and a half.
The politics are just a subtext though, as “Shooter is as true to the goodies-vs-baddies leitmotif as any Schwarzenegger, Stallone, or Bruce Willis flick. Danny Glover (“Lethal Weapon , “Dreamgirls ) who plays the arch villain Colonel Isaac Johnston, dispels any doubts about that.
Based on the novel “Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter, the film is laced with minute details about how to use sniper rifles and the art of blowing someone s head off. It is gruesome but strangely fascinating to find out how things like humidity and wind speed can determine whether a shot hits someone between the eyes or grazes their ear. Apparently after certain distances even the earth s rotation comes into play!
Aside from that, Fuqua packs “Shooter full of high octane, full volume, in-your-face action sequences. It is in equal parts riveting and taxing on the senses – like watching fireworks explode just inches from your nose. How much enjoyment you derive from it depends on just how much of a junky you are for action.
Either way “Shooter will satisfy your weekly action fix.
Though it is unlikely to reach the highs obtained from say a “Die Hard or a “Predator .
