Review of Shooter (2007) by Writefilmlive21 — 01 Dec 2012

To first address the pros, "Shooter" is an engrossing and well-made thriller following a military sniper's chaotic leave of retirement after he's deceived into a new assignment and finds himself on the run from corrupt government officials. Mark Wahlberg is decent in his role as the ex-soldier turned fugitive, and Danny Glover's performance is fairly engaging, while Michael Pena is largely forgettable and unconvincing as an FBI agent who is somewhat messily pulled into the fray. The action can also be fun at times.

However, ultimately, "Shooter" lost me with its dark, cynical and corrupt atmosphere. Whatever its true purpose, the film paints government as an evil and ruthless mugshot on our wall. Our villains, who lack any discernible thread of humanity or therefore plausibility, are perhaps two of the more callous and heartless government officials you'll find in a film, and they are virtually the only piece of government focused on in the film. There is a brief snapshot of attempted justice near the end, but that is conveniently written through a loose legal loophole to make way for a quick and bloody finale of retribution, so in the end I suppose the message is to be a vigilante and ignore all the rules since Big Brother is apparently no more than a sexually abusive, mass-murdering thug.

I can't say if it was the movie's intention to be so pointed in its presentation, but "Shooter" is nonetheless a pointedly pessimistic film, and for me its scowling nature wasn't quite up my alley.