Shooter
This story, adapted from the first of a series of books by Stephen Hunter, centers around a top military marksman named Bobby Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg), who becomes caught up in an assassination attempt against the President where he is framed as the top suspect and has to go on the run. In some ways this seems like a cheap knockoff of the Jason Bourne series, but Wahlberg, while not 100% convincing as a cold-blooded badass, does have enough screen presence to carry the film alright (though how he falls for the initial proposition, which has “setup” written all over it, is a little hard to swallow). Director Antoine Fuqua directs things at a brisk pace, keeping the viewer interested as Swagger kicks ass and digs deeper into the mystery surrounding him. Not as good is Michael Pena as the rookie FBI agent who becomes his sidekick: Pena overplays the nebbishy side of his character so much to the point that some viewers might mistake him for having Down’s Syndrome; As the government bad guy who gets the ball rolling, Danny Glover is effective and menacing. Those who know him as the lovable Murtagh from Lethal Weapon often forget that he can be at his best when playing villains; Famed DeNiro lookalike Elias Koteas falls a little short as a henchman with rape on his mind; and then there’s Ned Beatty as the mastermind behind the plot, a U.S. Senator from Montana: While it’s great to see Beatty still getting work in major films, the idea of how one lone Senator could pool the government resources to pull off such a plan come across as a bit suspect, and Beatty is even reduced to giving a lame, updated take on his legendary speech from Network, though not nearly as effective or foreboding this time around; Then there is Kate Mara as the widow of Wahlberg’s old spotter who helps him out. Amazingly beautiful and sexy with her Southern accent, she has the face of an angel that makes me hope to see her get more work in the years to come. The film keeps moving along at a fine clip, leading to the climax, a hardcore, merciless disposal on the part of Swagger that clearly is meant to show that this character is intended to have further cinematic adventures, but judging from the box-office take for this effort, seems unlikely. Overall, an okay effort to make an action flick with a fair share of government intrigue…
7/10