Movie Reviews

Review in a Hurry:  This paranoid action-thriller stars Mark Wahlberg as a sharp-eyed sniper who's nonetheless unable to spot a MacGuffin or a plot hole coming from a mile away.

The Bigger Picture:  Retired Marine Bob Lee Swagger (Wahlberg), an elite marksman, is recruited by a shadowy government operative (Danny Glover) to prevent a presidential assassination. Unfortunately, it turns out that Swagger's desirability is less about his expertise and more about the fact that Bob Lee Swagger is a great name for a would-be assassin. See, he's a patsy.

Having narrowly escaped the perfect setup job, Swagger sets out to right things the only way he knows how—which just happens to be shooting and/or blowing up everyone who looks at him cross-eyed. Since the vast conspiracy against him involves everyone from brutal mercenaries to conniving politicians, there are a whole lot of people to be shot and/or blown up. Also, if there's time he'd like to clear his name.

Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) excels at using pacing as a bludgeon; good thing, because every time Shooter pauses for breath you can't help but think about the improbabilities on which the whole plot pivots. The action scenes flow in workmanlike fashion (good enough for government work, if not exactly black-ops material) and Fuqua sneaks in enough political content to let the film hint at relevance.

The possibility that the good guys might not win does maintain your interest until the clunky finish, which will leave you wondering whether or not they should. It definitely has its moments, but Shooter is a near miss.

The 180—a Second Opinion:  Shooter does have good villains. Danny Glover is appropriately sinister, even though he's hampered with some flat dialogue, and Ned Beatty echoes the role of the blunt, cocksure executive he played in Network 30 years ago—a nice touch that reminds aware audiences that while the players may change, the game never really does.