| Product: |
Shooter (HD DVD) |
| Date: |
28.03.08 (90 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Fun, entertaining action movie
Disadvantages: Plot holes if you take it too seriously
Bob Lee Swagger a retired patriotic sniper is lured back into the business, to help plan how a sniper would assassinate the president, in order to stop it happening. He is in fact being set up by the corrupt government and is set up to look like he attempted to assassinate the president. He escapes, goes on the run and is determined to find out exactly what is going on, and get vengeance against those who set him up.
Mark Wahlberg (The Departed) takes on the main role of Bob Lee Swagger and does so well enough to please the average action viewer. I never at any time felt he was struggling and at times he reminded me of Matt Damon in the Bourne trilogy - but that's more likely down to the films plot than the acting. Michael Pena (World Trade Centre) and Kate Mara (Full Of It) do fine jobs as Wahlbergs supporting roles as the FBA agent who believes Swaggers story, and the widow of Swagger's ex partner, also wronged by the government. Swagger's arch enemy is Colonel Isaac Johnson played by Danny Glover, in a role that is perhaps acted well enough but drove me absolutely insane due to a highly noticeable speech impediment.
Shooter was a film that I instantly wanted to see from seeing the trailer at the cinema but not enough to actually make the effort to go and see at the time. However, now it's available on DVD at around the £5 mark it was one I definitely wanted to purchase and was looking forward to watching.
The film I would say was quite a basic action movie, with enough action and entertainment in it throughout to please most people but enough flaws to make more hardcore film fans dislike it.
It was most definitely entertaining, I'm not sure anyone could dispute that. The film was fast moving and at no point lulled. I certainly never felt bored and was gripped throughout it.
That said I can appreciate it is not a film masterpiece, and if you think about any of it for more than about 5 seconds, the plot has more holes than sieve. I personally don't think that matters, and to be honest it can actually be quite fun to enjoy the film for what it is, but then have a laugh about some of the plot holes and misconceptions that are actually really funny.
The film was entertaining, if not quite realistic. Also there were a lot of questions left unanswered after the film, not in one of those 'clever work it out yourself films' but just a bit like "what? Huh? That makes no sense at all" about some of the things in the film. I didn't find it confusing or anything, I just think some of the plot was not thought through thoroughly when it was written. My boyfriend however, who perhaps maybe thinks too hard and needs to accept its light entertainment and doesn't make any sense and just to enjoy it anyway, found it to be confusing. There were too many questions in his head that didn't make sense in the film, and a simple; "well it doesn't make sense, but just forget about it, just enjoy it" doesn't satisfy all minds.
If you like your action to be fast moving, full of guns, chase scenes, good guy will vs all the bad in the world etc then you will enjoy this. If you like your films to be a little more in depth, or just to have an at least somewhat well written plot then this perhaps is not for you. You have to take it at face value and let yourself be sucked into the whirlwind adventure and only assess the plot if you want to for a bit of fun, otherwise question nothing, accept what is in front of your eyes and you should be able to enjoy this.
The obvious films that stick out in my mind that this would be comparable to are of course the Bourne films. At times I almost felt like Matt Damon could burst on screen instead of Mark Wahlberg and it would go fairly un-noticed. I would say that the Bourne films are by far better in almost every way (although they do to have some amusing plot holes). I must stress Shooter isn't in my opinion anywhere near the same level of action entertainment and all round great film as the Bourne films, but I did still enjoy it.
Shooter isn't something I would necessarily recommend to a friend, but if they asked whether it was worth a watch I would probably say yes, why not, just leave your common sense at the door.
All in all, a mindless fun action movie, but sometimes that's just what you fancy watching.
Summary: Watch it in the right frame of mind and it can be fun
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