Shooter

Posted by Loukas Tsouknidas (loukas@filmschoolrejects.com) on March 30, 2007

I admit that I’m a sucker for me-against-the-world guy movies. I could spend time for a Dolph Lundgren flick and walk away totally guilt-free. It’s a sub-genre that guarantees, if nothing else, thoughtless identification with the hero and mindlessly violent, action sequences. I can’t remember the last movie i saw where the hero walks towards the camera while an unbelievable explosion goes on in the background. Oh! I know, it’s “Shooter” where Mark Wahlberg kicks some corrupt government guys’ ass and goes his way.

Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) is a self-exiled former marine-sniper. Some high placed people (Danny Glover & Elias Coteas) talk him into coming back in action to prevent a presidential assassination. When the Ethiopian dude next to the president is shot, Swagger knows that something’s wrong; he runs away from the guy who shoots at him for cover up and finally escapes after leaving his message to smalltime fed Nick Memphis (Michael Pe±a). As his wounds heal with the help of his late army buddy’s widow (Kate Mara), he plans his revenge and delivers some good ol’ mayhem…

A marine sniper, a presidential assassination attempt, government corruption and international interference, a frame, a nearly dead scapegoat with the word “Lee” in his name, a good fed, a beautiful braless girl and bloody revenge. Antoine Fuqua had a lot of balls to juggle in this one. The first scenes seem long and get you scared of a possible bore. I began thinking that this movie is taking itself too seriously up until Wahlberg dropped his old school line at Nick Memphis regarding his appetite for a killing spree: “You don’t understand… These guys killed my dog!”. No argument can top that.

From then on it’s pure action, enough to make you overlook all the clich©s that could of course be avoided, had this film any different aspirations than to entertain. It seems to me that a new kind of hero is portrayed here. Bob Lee Swagger is neither a self-righteous patriot nor a cynical loner-anarchist. He loves his country but doesn’t make a fuss about it and is aware of the amount of brainwash his training got him as well as the pointless argument of caring governments. He wants his peace but seeking revenge is inevitable for an ex-marine and an action hero. Mark Wahlberg is right on spot with his character. Good for us!

Fuqua is in “Training Day” mode, he handles his action scenes in an old school manner having Swagger use his training to overcome the difficulties, making all sorts of bombs and teaching a girl how to operate on his wounds along the way. Danny Glover, Ned Beaty and Elias Coteas all have it coming as true villains would and Kate Mara is a bomb by herself.

A film full of explosions, an entertaining action flick that has me waiting for that new “Die Hard” movie like crazy.

Read more articles by Loukas Tsouknidas