Untitled Document
Shooter Running time 2:05 Rated R ShowPlace West, ShowPlace East
Shooter finds
Marine sharpshooter Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) in Africa, covering the
retreat of an elite American unit that’s returning from a classified
mission. Though he’s able to hit his targets from as far as a
mile away, his location is compromised, his partner is killed, and
he’s left behind enemy lines to fend for himself. Fast-forward
three years, and we find Swagger living in the Rocky Mountains, bitter over
the way his comrades left him to die and cynical about the American
government in general. Col. Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) knows
Swagger’s mindset, yet tracks him down to ask whether he’ll do
a service for his country: foil a plot to assassinate the president.
Reluctantly Swagger agrees, only to be framed for the crime. All of this occurs during the
film’s tautly constructed first half-hour, and what follows is
Swagger’s desperate attempt to clear his name with the help of some
unlikely allies. His slain partner’s fiancée, Sarah (Kate
Mara), proves tough and smart — a welcome respite from the usual
portrayal of women in films of this sort. Equally inventive is the addition
of FBI agent Nick Memphis (Michael Peña), who tries to salvage his
reputation at the agency after letting Swagger slip through his fingers on
the day of the assassination. In trying to crack the case, he concocts his
own conspiracy theory, realizes that Swagger is innocent, and actually
tries to help him clear his name. Although all of this is highly
entertaining, it’s the political ax that the film grinds throughout
that makes it intriguing. There’s no question about where
director Antoine Fuqua; Wahlberg; Stephen Hunter, writer of the novel on
which Shooter is
based; and screenwriter Jonathan Lemkin stand with regard to their view of
the current government. When Swagger is asked to help protect the
president, he replies, “I don’t really like the president that
much.” It’s a sentiment most of us, in the real world, can
understand. Shooter is not only a superbly made actioner but also a mirror of our
fractured, bitter societal mindset. Now that’s what I call exciting
filmmaking.
This article appears in Mar 15-21, 2007.
