Review: “Shooter”
Posted on March 26, 2007 @ 8:36 am
Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) is a former Marine living off the grid in the mountains of Wyoming when he’s informed of a plot to kill the president. Now, the military wants him for one last mission: to utilize his skills as one of the world’s best snipers to anticipate the time and location of the assassination attempt so it can be stopped. He’s double-crossed, however, and set up as a patsy by conspirators within the U.S. government. The subject of a nationwide manhunt, Swagger goes on the run, searching for the real killer and plotting revenge against the people who framed him.
First things first: Bob Lee Swagger is one of the worst movie character names ever (although Special Agent Nick Memphis, a rookie FBI agent who unravels the film’s conspiracy, is a close runner-up). That being said, Wahlberg brings his usual intensity to Shooter, and it’s his engaging performance that keeps things rolling — even when the plot ventures a few steps beyond the realm of plausibility toward the end.
Shooter is kind of like a season of 24 crammed into an action-packed two hours, starring Marky Mark instead of Kiefer Sutherland. Or a less European Bourne Identity with a dash of The Fugitive and a tablespoon of Oliver Stone’s JFK. It’s not perfect, but as action movies go, it’s better than most.
The verdict: B
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Pop Culture |
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Cool. But moving on
… have you seen Reign Over Me? Cheadle and Sandler. Totally worth the price of admission.
I don’t know if I could handle Reign Over Me. “Heartwarming” usually isn’t my bag, and Adam Sandler looks way too much like 1970s Bob Dylan in the previews. It’s kinda creepy.
But it’s good, you say? I do like Don Cheadle, so maybe I should give it a chance.
When I saw the ads I thought it was a ripoff of that Keenan Ivory Wayans classic, Most Wanted.
He is very Dylan-esque, yes. I can only stomach Sandler when he’s being serious so you have to know that up front. And yeah, heartwarming fits so if that’s really really not your thing then you should probably pass but I really like a movie who can make me wanna cry one second and have me laughing the next. That’s talent.
Are you doing anything other than watching movies now? Cuz if not, that’s pretty sweet.
Bob Lee Swagger - Action Televangelist!
Bob Lee Swagger may not be a good movie name but it is the name the author used from the book. A very, very good read. You might have to do some research if you want to check it out since Shooter isn’t the original title and I can’t remember. He has a couple of others that are equally good but beware of the titles when his timeline goes backward and the main character is about his father, Earl. Some people like them but I could never get into them - probably because I kept trying to picture the Bob character into Earl’s role. Not the same.
DE Fisher: Yeah, pretty much just watching movies and playing video games. I highly recommend it.
Chris: “Bob Lee Swagger: Action Televangelist!” sounds like a great idea for a pilot. I’ll start contacting the networks this afternoon.
Slug: I think the book was Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter.