Shooter, tireur d'élite

Like so many other projects, you have to find something not intended or not well exploited to enjoy it.

The film itself is ordinary, a noir revenge story. Its modern noir because the hero is captured in the story and the twists of reality he goes through are organized for our benefit.

Government conspiracy of extreme competence? Check. Individual with superhuman powers who unfailingly undoes it, leaving no man standing? Check. Pretty girl who gets swept up? Check. There really isn't much else left to the extremely strict formula, expect for the obligatory but minor plot twist associated with our hero's past.

What this has that is interesting are two things.

One is the idea about watching from a distance. These noir things depend on the notion of a watcher, us. Modern noir has a watcher folded into the story. Here, its our hero who can watch and touch from over a mile away. Its a big deal, a big idea that isn't quite exploited here. The director is too ordinary. Tony Scott could have done it.

The second is a short scene in the middle. Its there for purely expository reasons, to explain a key plot point. But its pretty darn good, one wonderful scene in the midst of a tepid movie. It a visit to an old fellow in the country. He's an expert gunsmith, supposedly the best. He's also clued into the "government" who is here portrayed as existing only to create attractive fictions.

The actor is immensely talented. The setup and writing here is a cut above the rest of the script, incisive, deep and many-layered. In the midst of a rant about conspiracies, he mentions that the shooters from the grassy knoll were dead three hours after the JFK shooting and buried in the desert . When slightly questioned our man simply says "I still have the shovel."

Its very impressive writing. It must have been someone else.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

I had the opportunity to catch an advance screening of this film the other day. Similarities to other projects aside, I was impressed by the use of some of the newer military technology involved. The film was both engaging and entertaining, and Mark Wahlberg did a very good job of portraying the character in all of his idiosyncrasies. It was good to see Danny Glover again as I have not had the opportunity to see him in any films of late. His character was not exactly multidimensional but I would assume that it was what the writing called for, and certainly different from the one he portrays in the "Lethal Weapon" series, not much comedy here. Now if I could only get a hold of the script... Needless to say, my wife and I enjoyed the movie very much and would definitely recommend to go and see it.

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.

"Shooter" is a tale about a patriot who gets used & abused by the government that he swore allegiance to. Even worse, they do nasty things to his dog. It's the kind of movie that makes you want to run off to Canada, not because you hate your country but because you hate the goons who are running it. But don't pack your hockey stick just yet because the story provides enough satisfying turns to keep things entertaining rather than depressing.

"Bob Lee Swagger" (Mark Wahlberg) is an Army sniper, one of the best, who is given the assignment of planning--but not executing--an assassination. That's all I'll say about the plot because the fun part is riding all the twists & turns that follow. Danny Glover plays his government liaison while at the top is Ned Beatty playing a questionable senator.

What follows is an action packed political conspiracy thriller along the lines of a Tom Clancy story ("Clear and Present Danger", "Patriot Games") but with the noticeable difference that our hero Bob is a total badass, sort of like a dash of "First Blood". And that's what makes this movie really fun when he starts to take things on the offensive.

My only criticism is, as I implied in my title, a few preposterous things happen so be prepared. You know, stuff like when a person gets shot multiple times but is still able to swim across the Delaware River. (I mean bullets, sure, but all that Jersey waste'll kill ya faster than battery acid.) But if you can go along for the ride without raising too many eyebrows, this flick will definitely keep you riveted from start to finish. Bonus points for being shot in Philadelphia, the perfect city for a story like this.

If you were to take the best parts of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series (Patriot Games, Clear And Present Danger, Sum of All Fears) and mixed in the best parts of the only good Rambo film (First Blood) you would end up with something akin to Shooter. Shooter is a smart, engaging and all out enjoyable action flick that never pulls its punches and always surprises you when you least expect it.

Mark Whalberg plays the role of Bob Lee Swagger, a former military sniper who quit the army following a disastrous mission where his best friend and spotter is killed when they are left behind. Three years later he is hired by a Colonel (played with gusto by Danny Glover) to figure out how a suspected assassin is going to attempt to kill the President from over a mile away, a shot that few could make. Swagger figures out how it is going to be done and is asked to supervise locating the sniper on site. But on the day of the supposed assassination, Swagger is set up with the assassination attempt that kills a visiting diplomat. Swagger is then left on the hunt while trying to prove his innocence.

Shooter twists and turns with an elaborate conspiracy that is very convincing, though of course the writers wimp out and take the cheap road of drawing international oil into the plot (can't writers think of an original plot device?). However, this is hardly a drawback since the rest of the film is solid as a rock. The film really puts you into the shoes of a sniper and gives an impressive overview of the mindset that it takes to be as accurate as someone of the character of Swagger.

The only real distractions in the film would be Elias Koteas, whose psycho performance is heavy-handed and does not fit the film, and Kate Mara who has little to do throughout the film but appear upset or in distress. The film could have done without either characters or their respective actors. As well, some of the character relations seem forced at time, particularly in the relationship between Michael Peña's character of Nick Memphis and his FBI confidante Lourdes, played by Rhona Mitra. Their almost effortless camaraderie comes off as less than convincing.

Overall, Shooter certainly delivers as an entertaining thrill-ride that is certainly not dumbed down in the least. If you want an intelligent action film with lots of impressive gun play and several elaborate, thrilling action sequences to boot, Shooter is right up your alley and will not disappoint. 7.6 out of 10