Shooter (2007)

A marksman living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the President. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to find the real killer and the reason he was set up.

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Writers:

Jonathan Lemkin (screenplay), Stephen Hunter (novel)

Stars:

Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña, Rhona Mitra

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Wahlberg	...	Bob Lee Swagger
Michael Peña	...	Nick Memphis
Danny Glover	...	Colonel Isaac Johnson
Kate Mara	...	Sarah Fenn
Elias Koteas	...	Jack Payne
Rhona Mitra	...	Alourdes Galindo
Jonathan Walker	...	Louis Dobbler
Louis Ferreira	...	Howard Purnell (as Justin Louis)
Tate Donovan	...	Russ Turner
Rade Serbedzija	...	Michael Sandor (as Rade Sherbedgia)
A.C. Peterson	...	Officer Stanley Timmons (as Alan C. Peterson)
Ned Beatty	...	Senator Charles F. Meachum
Lane Garrison	...	Donnie Fenn
Zak Santiago	...	Senior Agent
Michael-Ann Connor	...	Junior Agent

Storyline

Bob Lee Swagger, one of the world's great marksmen and the son of a Congressional Medal of Honoree, is a loner living in the Rockies. He's left the military, having been hung out to dry in a secret Ethiopian mission a few years before, when he's recruited by a colonel to help find a way that the President of the US might be assassinated in one of three cities in the next two weeks. He does his work, but the shot is fired notwithstanding and Bob Lee is quickly the fall guy: wounded and hunted by thousands, he goes to ground and, aided by two unlikely allies, searches for the truth and for those who double-crossed him. All roads lead back to Ethiopia.

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Plot Keywords:

on the run | government agent | sniper | sniper rifle | off screen rape | 

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Taglines:

Yesterday was about honor. Today is about justice.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shootemup

Filming Locations:

Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$61,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,523,571, 25 March 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$47,003,582

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$95,696,996

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Grosvenor Park Impact Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Swagger's name may be a play on the term "SWAG". In sniping terms it stands for "Scientific Wild Ass Guess", a quick calculation made on the fly.

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Goofs

While Swagger is in Baltimore he walks down the steps of Federal Hill. He enters a taxi cab on Battery Avenue that drives towards the Inner Harbor. Battery Avenue is a "one-way" street that goes in the opposite direction (away from the harbor).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Donnie Fenn: Movement. Two men. Approximately... forty goats.
Bob Lee Swagger: They're not on anybody's side. We don't have to shoot them.

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Alternate Versions

Some television airings use alternate takes with less blood and gore. For example, when Swagger shoots Payne in the hand, it is shown in a wide shot, instead of the bloody closeup in the theatrical release. And when Swagger shoots Payne again, instead of Payne's arm being blown off, as in the theatrical release, he is hit in the shoulder and simply falls down in a wide shot.

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Connections

References Invincible (2006)

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Soundtracks

Nasty Letter
Written and Performed by Otis Taylor
Courtesy of Telarc International Corporation
By Arrangement with Music for the Masses

User Reviews

Recipe for a fantastic, intelligent action film

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