Shooter (2007)

Originally Reviewed 

Tuesday August 28, 2007

From rapper to actor, Marky Mark has morphed into a solidified action star. Mark Walberg is one of the few "rappers" who has successfully been able to go from music to acting and actually be good at it, and in his case be more successful in acting. Shooter is a prime example of Walberg's grit and pure adrenaline which makes about anything he's in worth watching. While he's no Tom Hanks or Russell Crowe, Walberg is able to convey a presence on screen that makes him stand out against the typical action talents.

Mark Walberg stars as Bob Lee Swagger, an excellent military sniper who is assigned a mission which appears to ultimately be a losing battle, so much so that the military deserts him and his partner leaving them to die. In carrying out the mission his partner is killed and Swagger blames himself, leaves the military and moves into a cabin in the remote wilderness.

A few years later Swagger is approached by Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover). He's ask to help assist the government in tracking down a sniper who they believe plans on assassinating the President. Swagger regretfully agrees to assist them and before it's too late realizes he's been setup in order to take the fall for the assassination of a foreign diplomat. Now with the FBI on his tail Swagger will try to clear his name, expose those in the government who set him up and enact his revenge.

Shooter is your typical framed/revenge plot line that was made popular by films like The Fugitive. While the story offers a few exciting action sequences the plot isn't anything new, the acting is below average (especially from veteran Danny Glover) and after it's all said and done nothing in this film is going to stand out to you as truly ground breaking or exceptional. It's a descent action/thriller to watch when you have nothing better to do, but the next day you probably won't be able to remember anything great about the film. 

7/10