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Shooter - quick review
Director Antoine Fuqua returns with an action flick that's heavy on action, less so on characterization. Mark Wahlberg's Bobby Lee Swagger is a patriotic sniper left expendable when a military op goes bad, but he finds a way to survive and then retires from the military. Danny Glover, very tough to understand due to his mumbling or choice of enunciation for his character, does some low-key scenery chewing as his character recruits Swagger to set up a sniper scenario on the president, and it's from that premise that fuels the rest of the film.
Overall, the film feels a little derivative, with a bit of Rambo tossed in for good measure, as well as other chase-scene-driven films. Wahlberg carries most of the film, and buoyed by the supporting cast of Michael Pena (last seen in "World Trade Center"), Kate Mara ("We Are Marshall") and Rhona Mitra, all of whom are good in their roles. The bad guys are easily to root against, and that's where the film treads most for its formulaic foundations. The ending does let down the film as it builds to confrontations that don't quite hit the right beats.
The film works as an action flick, provides a few laughs driven from Swagger's struggle to clear his name and a visit to a gun expert, but misses the mark in the final act.
I give it 2.75 stars or a grade of B-.
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