Tirador

Never mess with someone who can drop you with his gun from miles away. Snipers somehow has this aura of mystique and sexiness associated with the motto of "one shot, one kill", as exhibited in movies like Enemy at the Gates, or memorable war characters such as in Saving Private Ryan. In Shooter, this gets demystified for a while, hitting home that not only should one be gifted with the pulling of the trigger from incredible distance, a sniper is also a master mathematician, having to compute the trajectory of the round with factors of humidity, wind direction, angle etc just to hit the target.

Mark Wahlberg stars as Bob Lee Swagger, whom director Antoine Fuqua makes him literally walk with a swagger in all the silhouetted slow motion shots. A battle hardened veteran with ghosts from the past (don't they all), he gets tempted back to assist the authorities in order to feed his patriotic adrenaline, only to find himself screwed and framed for a treasonous crime he did not commit. It's cat and mouse as prey becomes hunter, and tries to exact justice and at the same time, to try and prove his innocence. Expect the usual guns, explosions, and plenty of blood and gore.

Shooter plays off like an urban Rambo meeting The Fugitive, only this time Dr Richard Kimble has biceps the size of melons and fights back with deadly accuracy from his rifle. He runs from the authorities, firmly put as the scheming villains involved in shady deals and the existence of a covert group of greed ala X-Files, one of whom is played by Danny Glover, in a rare turn of alignment to the dark side. No self-respecting beefcake wannabe can do without some DIY operation scene to keep alive, or some montage in gathering and making new weapons (pipe bombs, napalm anyone?), and half the time I was wondering about Mark Wahlberg being the quintessential new generation action hero.

Gone are the days when Hollywood action movie were ruled by the Stallone-Schwarzenegger- VanDamme trio, and surprisingly there are no permanent beefcakes who can readily step into and fill the void. Wahlberg has been slowly inching his way in my opinion, though Marky Mark's filmography of The Italian Job, the Planet of the Apes remake, The Perfect Storm and the more recent Four Brothers, do suggest that more should be done to cement this status, hence Shooter. I can't wait for his Brazilian Job to hit the screens, though that one plays more like an Ocean's Eleven rather than the individual one-man-saves-the-world action hero type. The Departed was a vulgar bit role, so that doesn't count.

Antoine Fuqua is no stranger to directing action movies, or movies with the hero caught up against unfair odds. From Training Day to Tears of the Sun, you can see earlier influences creep their way into Shooter, making it a little familiar territory visited. There are many sweeping shots used to try and epic-ize the movie, and set action sequences take priority, reducing character development to the token time available between scenes, and sometimes at the expense of plausibility.

The supporting cast was fun to watch, as Michael Pena (World Trade Center, Crash) almost stole the show with his rookie FBI character being caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and almost against his training, wishes and protocol, forms and becomes an important ally for Wahlberg's Swagger. The woman folk however get relegated to backseat roles, as per the usual Fuqua movies with Eva Mendes, Keira Knightley and Monica Belluci. Don't expect Kate Mara or Rhona Mitra to do much. As for the rest, they are your token cardboard characters, there to chew the scene.

Shooter is an action fan's fodder, and it is nothing more than a guilt trip watching a cowboy of a hero mopping up the town's scum, exactly in the way we like to see justice served - without remorse, exacting, and served extremely cold. A satisfying actioner with the usual thrills and spills.

23 March 2007. Warning: Spoilers. I can't say I was impressed with the ending, but most of the movie was involving and interesting. This solid action thriller is held together by Mark Walberg and contains the classic "Three Days of Condor" suspense and chase as well as the "The Bourne Identity" sophistication to make an overall nice thriller. Of course Walberg's near escape from death has already been pointed out as being a bit suspicious but the aftermath is handled about as well as any movie I've seen. There is a good interweaving of two characters trying on different tracks to solve this mystery, though its final explanation isn't as nefarious as some movies, more like "The Interpreter." While not in the top flight class of thrillers like "Bourne Supremacy," this movie definitely adds to the quality of this genre. Seven out of Ten Stars.

I was surprised in many ways by shooter. #1, I was surprised by the release. I follow movies and I didn't hear about this title until early this year. #2, I was amazed by Marks ability to sell me on his acting skills. #3, By the fact that the most established actors in this title, Ned and Danny may have given career killing performances. I think Tony Todd and Stephen Root would have been solid choices, but my guess is the two poor performances were bought for name recognition.

To me this had Eastwood written all over it. At times I thought I was watching Line of Fire at others Unforgiven, but in the end it was just really good entertainment, much like The Bourne movies.

I think it's worth the watch and the story although not new was presented in a fresh manner. This one will go in my collection when available. I'm sure it will have a host of deleted scenes and alternate endings.

Solid film!

Mark Wahlberg might be the Bruce Willis of the new generation. His taciturn Bobby Swagger is perfect. The action is basically nonstop and very gritty. Bobby is a sniper who has retired to the mountains after being screwed by the government in an event which finds his sidekick dead. After being set up, he is stone cold killer. Think Jason Bourne as someone who remembers his past is really p.o.'d about it. The acting is good all around, with Glover and Beatty as bad guys you love to hate. Underlying all this a morality tale about what this country and its government have become. Many situations, of course, stretch the imagination , but watching a sense of honor prevail, no matter how briefly, is worth the price of admission. No Oscar nominations here, but a big bundle of money for the producers will be no surprise.

Although not accurate all the way, this film is one of the more realistic action thrillers I've seen. It's one of the few films where the main character actually spends a lot of time taking care of just two gun shot wounds (without vital organs being hit), one of the few films that puts governmental corruption in a more or less correct perspective, one of the few films where the lone hero needs a sidekick to help him with the planning, etc. On top of that, the film is entertaining from beginning to end and character motives are believable.

But then again.... this film is not for everyone. Left wing supporters are likely to be offended by its pro-gun message. American right wing supporters are likely to be offended by the strong anti-US government viewpoints clearly expressed in this film. Pro-constitution anti-federal government paleoconservatives and right wingers outside of the US without an in depth knowledge of sniper rifles are probably the only ones to enjoy this film to the fullest. And boy oh boy, how little are they in number... which probably explains why this film did not become the blockbuster hit it could have been.