Shooter

Shooter **

Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Written by Jonathan Lemkin, based on the novel "Point of Impact" written by Stephen Hunter

Starring:
Mark Wahlberg as Bob Lee Swagger
Michael Peña as Nick Memphis
Danny Glover as Colonel Isaac Johnson
Kate Mara as Sarah Fenn
Elias Koteas as Jack Payne
Rhona Mitra as Alourdes Galindo
Jonathan Walker as Louis Dobbler
Justin Louis as Howard Purnell
Tate Donovan as Russ Turner
Rade Serbedzija as Michael Sandor
Alan C. Peterson as Officer Stanley Timmons
Ned Beatty as Senator Charles F. Meachum
Lane Garrison as Donnie Fenn

124 Minutes(Rated R for strong graphic violence and some language.)
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In a nutshell, "Shooter" is straight action with a small attempt at a political message. It offers a little bit of story and some scenes of fantastic action, but mainly showcases bad acting and seems pointless in the end. I do like a good action flick once in a while, but only when it features a decent storyline. For example, I love "Face/Off." There is an action film with mind-blowing action sequences, and engaging storyline. But "Shooter" just has the former, and they aren't really mind blowing anyway. The occasional "Damn!" and "I can't believe he did that!" but those are just small moments, and doesn't offer the escapism that an action film needs. I found myself somewhat bored may times throughout the two hour running time-which seemed a bit more than needed. This is another installment in the Mark Wahlberg "I'm going to mess you up!" series, that was last seen in "Four Brothers." And there isn't a hint of the neat Wahlberg from "I Heart Huckabees" and "The Departed," and I can't imagine why he would want to be in this one dimensional drivel.

Wahlberg plays Bob Lee Swagger, a Marine shooter who is on a dangerous mission with his partner, Donnie. Donnie ends up being killed in the line of duty. Thirty six months later(why they just couldn't write three years later on the bottom of the screen is beyond me) he is living by himself, not on duty since the incident, with his dog in a mountain cabin. He is soon found by Colonel Isaac Johnson. The Colonel heard that Swagger is a great shooter, and wants his help in stopping the assassination of the president. Swagger manages to investigate the area against his wishes, and he figures out exactly how it would be done if the president were to be killed. He reports this, and believes that this was all done to PREVENT an assassination. However it was all a set up to kill an African diplomat, and soon Swagger finds himself being chased by the authorities when they think it was him that did it. When he first escapes he comes into contact with an FBI agent Nick Memphis who joins Swagger in the quest to clear his name. He also gets help from Donnie's widow, Sarah.

"Shooter" does have moments of political intrigue, and the best scenes go beyond action. The best scenes are where Swagger ends up showing his skill as a marksman, and describes exactly how one would shoot from a far distance-weather and location need to be put into play, as well as making sure the bullet is shot exactly at the moment where the target will be in a few seconds-since it takes that long for the bullet to actually travel that far. It is parts like these that put "Shooter" a small notch above something like "The Marine," but it still isn't anything special. Action fans will walk away from the theatre slightly satisfied, but "Shooter" never really sucks the viewer in like something like this needs to. Alongside Walhberg there is Michael Pena who hasn't blown me away since his work in "Crash," Kate Mara who is attractive enough to be the female lead-and the little clothing worn in parts helped this aspect at times. If the name doesn't seem familiar than you would know her as Heath Ledger's grown up daughter in "Brokeback Mountain." And then there is Danny Glover who is somewhat awful as the evil Colonial. Every time Glover spoke I would just cringe in pain because for some reason he puts on this awful lisp. I really don't know what he was thinking with that voice but he sounded like a little baby instead of a legendary actor. "Shooter" does have a great shootout at the end on atop of a snowy mountain, but a lot of it is very talky. It has some mild intelligence, but for the most part there is nothing here that is mandatory for the big screen, and it could probably be missed out on entirely.