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276 comments in total

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204 out of 281 people found the following comment useful :-
Recipe for a fantastic, intelligent action film, 13 March 2007

Author: Craig Estrella (Surecure) from Toronto, Canada

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

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205 out of 309 people found the following comment useful :-
Amazing, 24 March 2007

Author: (thecrow22) from United States

I came into this film with loads of skepticism, but I came out feeling completely the opposite. Shooter takes you into the life of retired Marine Scout Sniper Bob Lee Swagger, who retired after a mission went completely wrong. He is called back to give information as to how someone would be able to kill the president from over a mile away. He ends up being framed for the attempted murder of the president, and the murder of an archbishop of Ethopia, and must prove his innocence, at any cost.

Mark Wahlberg does a perfect job of portraying a detached veteran who has no respect for the government, and really brings the character to you. He is backed up by an outstanding Michael Pena and Danny Glover who add to the film like no one else could. The only real complaint is that Kate Mara's character, the widowed wife of Swagger's best friend seems to only play two emotions, distressed, or hysterical, and it does get annoying, though she plays the part well. Elias Kosteas did a good job playing Jack Payne, a borderline psychotic government agent, though at times his part seems over the top.

All in all this film blew me away and I couldn't have loved it more. Anyone who is into action movies of any kind definitely needs to see this movie.

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163 out of 242 people found the following comment useful :-
Wahlberg may be next Bruce Willis, 23 March 2007

Author: jpanyard from United States

Mark Wahlberg might be the Bruce Willis of the new generation. His taciturn Bobby Swagger is perfect. The action is basically nonstop and very gritty. Bobby is a sniper who has retired to the mountains after being screwed by the government in an event which finds his sidekick dead. After being set up, he is stone cold killer. Think Jason Bourne as someone who remembers his past is really p.o.'d about it. The acting is good all around, with Glover and Beatty as bad guys you love to hate. Underlying all this a morality tale about what this country and its government have become. Many situations, of course, stretch the imagination , but watching a sense of honor prevail, no matter how briefly, is worth the price of admission. No Oscar nominations here, but a big bundle of money for the producers will be no surprise.

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141 out of 229 people found the following comment useful :-
Still Invincible, 23 March 2007

Author: ThatMonkey (thatmonkey@hotmail.com) from Seattle Washington

I was surprised in many ways by shooter. #1, I was surprised by the release. I follow movies and I didn't hear about this title until early this year. #2, I was amazed by Marks ability to sell me on his acting skills. #3, By the fact that the most established actors in this title, Ned and Danny may have given career killing performances. I think Tony Todd and Stephen Root would have been solid choices, but my guess is the two poor performances were bought for name recognition.

To me this had Eastwood written all over it. At times I thought I was watching Line of Fire at others Unforgiven, but in the end it was just really good entertainment, much like The Bourne movies.

I think it's worth the watch and the story although not new was presented in a fresh manner. This one will go in my collection when available. I'm sure it will have a host of deleted scenes and alternate endings.

Solid film!

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87 out of 124 people found the following comment useful :-
Good Action Movie, 28 March 2007

Author: GiveMeJustice from United States

I'm not going to delve into the story of the film nor am I going to pick over every single aspect of it. All I want to say is that Shooter is a good action movie. The performances are solid, and the plot makes sense. But most of all, the movie maintains an intensity throughout. If I had to compare it to another movie, it would probably be Rambo. In fact, Shooter is kind of like a liberal's version of that movie. I was thoroughly entertained and I left the theater satisfied. If you're looking for a deep flick, go watch something else. But if you're looking for a cool action movie to watch on Saturday night, Shooter is a good choice.

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67 out of 106 people found the following comment useful :-
A Nutshell Review: Shooter, 5 April 2007

Author: DICK STEEL from Singapore

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.

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59 out of 92 people found the following comment useful :-
Engaging, worth seeing., 13 March 2007

Author: StevenAWebb from United States

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.

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30 out of 41 people found the following comment useful :-
Directionless, without substance, story and soul, 16 July 2007

Author: chrisklecker from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Shooter is the essence of a soulless movie bent on nothing more than pushing the horrific profession of a "sniper" onto the audience to illustrate just how incredible an assassin they make. You have an interesting plot line from the start, "two snipers caught in a domestic and international war with no rules", however the movie soon turns into a biased anti-government knockoff that is bent on showing conspiracies and crooked politicians.

Mark Wahlberg plays Bob Lee Swagger, a ex-sniper special forces operative who just lost his friend/partner during a mission in Ethiopia. He retreats to the mountains and is approached by Danny Glover (Col. Issac Johnson) to tell them how a sniper could hit the President so they could stop a potential sniper they think is about to assassinate the president. Bob agrees, gets double-crossed, finds Pena (FBI agent Nick Memphis) tells him he's innocent and runs off ala John Rambo to seek revenge on those who wronged him.

The first five minutes are actually not bad, but then the movie goes downhill fast and when Michael Pena makes his first appearance. One must question what the director is thinking as Pena kicks the dirt in a rather poor attempt to be a "rookie, no-brains" FBI agent who later turns out to be an easily trained army commando.

The bottom line is Shooter was marred from the start. No real direction with the plot, no clear message, and a complete mis-use of some big name actors that have already proved they were excellent actors before starring in this sorry excuse for a movie. What is more interesting is what some new-comers to movies would think of these actors if Shooter was the first movie they saw, never realizing that's Ned Beatty from Deliverance, that's Danny Glover with one hell of a portfolio, and Mark Walhberg from The Departed and The Perfect Storm and last but definitely not least Michael Pena from Training Day. All of these actors have more talent than Shooter can provide and it's pathetic having to watch them squirm through the shallow plot line and cheesy dialog. I actually cringed when Ned Beatty shouts to Mark, "I'm a US Senator".

Shooter fails in more ways than one. The only thing it doesn't fail at is being somewhat of a no-brainer popcorn entertainment which is even debatable for me. In my humble opinion if you want a sniper movie with more intelligence, better dialog and solid plot, watch Sniper with Tom Berenger and Billy Zane.

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35 out of 53 people found the following comment useful :-
" This is Serious, . . . They Killed My Dog ", 28 August 2007

Author: thinker1691 from USA

It has always been one of the great mistakes of militaries around the world, to recruit the best young men and train them to kill ruthlessly. Some become so proficient at their task, as to glean the admiration of ambitious and callous individuals who will then use these human weapons for any purpose necessary. For the film student, this scenario is not new, but has become a repeatable staple for movie directors whenever they need intrigue, drama and action. The list of films who's name resembles, " Marksman, Sniper, Assassin, Killer, Agent, Mercenary, Machanic, Sanction or just plain Liquidator." is as long as your arm. The only difference here is the title has been shorten to "Shooter." In this story our hero, Bob Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) is an Ex-Iraq era Marine sniper, now retired and reputed to be the very best at his art is once again recruited to serve his country. A very sincere military Officer, Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) convinces him to help protect the President of the United States. Convinced, Swagger details the 'where and how' to the Colonel and his men, only to discover, they are not what they appear and the Marine finds himself the target. On the run, he must now evade a nationwide manhunt, clear his name and find the truth behind the deception. Along the way, he discovers an ally in a rookie F.B.I. agent named Nick Memphis (Michael Peña) who also becomes a wanted fugitive. Based on the novel by Steven Hunter the fast action film includes notable Ned Beatty and Elias Koteas as Jack Payne. If you're looking for action, drama and a plausible movie for the times, you've found one. ****

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50 out of 86 people found the following comment useful :-
well-worn storyline with some refreshing elements, 1 April 2007

Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) from United States

Though little more than a strung-together collection of man-on-the-run, action movie clichés, "Shooter" provides a veritable feast for conspiracy-theory paranoiacs and a decent enough time at the movies for the rest of us.

Mark Wahlberg plays Bob Lee Swagger, an embittered ex-marine gunnery sergeant who's been living a hermitlike existence ever since he and his sharpshooter buddy were left to perish on an Ethiopian hillside by the American forces that had sent them on the mission in the first place. After three years holed up in the wilderness of Wyoming with no one but his devoted pooch to keep him company, Swagger is coaxed out of retirement by the FBI to help foil a planned assassination of the President of the United States. When Swagger discovers at the last minute that he is actually being set up as the fall guy for the killing, he barely escapes with his life and spends the rest of the movie dodging the authorities while attempting to clear his name and bring the true culprits to justice.

Wahlberg, all brooding stoicism and macho-man swagger (pardon the pun), continues his run of tough guy roles in this film, though one wishes he would return to the more nuanced, multi-layered portrayals he managed to put forth in movies like "Boogie Nights" and "Three Kings." As the woman who befriends Swagger, the attractive and talented Kate Mara has considerably more screen time in this film than she did in "Brokeback Mountain," but far less worthy material to work with. The most compelling performance is by Michael Pena as the low-level FBI agent who believes Swagger is innocent of the crime and who winds up joining forces with Swagger to uncover the conspiracy. The Average Joe demeanor that Pena brings to the character provides a proper counterbalance to Wahlberg's strutting self-confidence and superhuman athleticism. Danny Glover seems to be phoning in much of his performance here as the leader of the covert FBI cabal, and Ned Beatty does his best as a stereotypically smarmy senator who's up to his ears in venality and corruption.

The plot often doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and it is easy for a layperson to get lost in all the arcane machinations that come flying fast and loose off the screen. Still, the screenplay does a nice job fitting the pieces of its puzzle together, merging the two story lines that run along parallel tracks for the first half into a unified whole at about the midway point. The action scenes are strikingly well done, even though they often sacrifice verisimilitude and plausibility for mass explosions and preposterously lopsided gun battles.

The movie makes a lot of grand speeches at the end about governmental corruption and what it truly means to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, but "Shooter" is designed to be a generic thriller not a big-think social drama. And, on those terms only, the movie succeeds more often than it fails.

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