Posted on March 26, 2006
“Shooter” comes to theaters with guns blazing. This “pull no punches” kind of film should satisfy any man’s needs in an action movie. The explosions are big, the gun battles are awesome, and Mark Wahlberg clearly knows how to hold his own.
The movie starts off with Bob Lee Swagger (played by Wahlberg) living in seclusion in the woods, Swagger is retired from the military and specializes in sniper rifles, and Colonel Isaac Johnson (played by Danny Glover) needs his help. Johnson informs Swagger that he believes there will be an assassination attempt on to assassinate the president and he needs Swagger to stop it from happening. Swagger agrees to help the colonel.
After arriving in Philadelphia, Swagger goes to work, using all of his former military training to assess the area. Little does Swagger know the whole thing was a setup.
The assassination does go down, and Johnson and his men frame Swagger as the sniper. They try to kill him, but Swagger escapes and has to run for his life while trying to prove his innocence.
Director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “King Arthur”) brings us another action blockbuster that will please audiences. Much like his previous films, “Shooter” is filled with realistic action, strategic fighting and great hand-to-hand combat scenes. It also includes great scenery, as Swagger goes from the very green Langley, all the way to the snowy Rocky Mountains.
Wahlberg’s performance is outstanding, and makes a believable sniper. Glover is also great, but for some reason he talks with a lisp through the whole movie, which is a huge distraction.
The plot is lacking at points, and some of the political social commentary is gratuitous and untrue, taking the audience’s focus off the movie.
“Shooter” still makes for one great action flick. So if “Rambo” and the “Bourne” movies are a part of your DVD collection at home, you should definitely check out “Shooter.”
