There’s a new sheriff in town. But instead of applying justice to the cattle rustlers or roving marauders in the Old West, this lone rangermeans to bring down the corrupt politicians and mercenary government “contractors” of the military-industrial complex in the New Millennium.
With a shamelessly — and scrumptiously! — macho Mark Wahlberg as the vigilante “Shooter,” appropriately named Bob Swagger, this excitingly wrought if way over-the-top conspiracy thriller takes on some resonance by aiming at the perfect villains for this time of botched policies and greedy power brokers.
But even if you don’t appreciate the catharsis of those “haves” being taken down by a single fierce throwback patriot, you can just sit back and enjoy the gnarly chase scenes, explosions and gunplay of a pretty cool action movie as helmed by “Training Day’s” Antoine Fuqua.
“Shooter” is based on the 1993 novel “Point of Impact” written by Stephen Hunter. The best-selling author also happens to be my fellow area film critic. He reviewed movies for years at The Baltimore Sun before moving over to The Washington Post. Screenwriter Jonathan Lemkin (“The Devil’s Advocate,” “Red Planet”) reworks some of the plotting and attempts to update Hunter’s source material by sprinkling references to everything from the 911 Commission Report to Anna Nicole Smith into the proceedings.
But the paranoid drama requires plenty of suspension of disbelief since pulpy narratives like this tend to work better on the page (which allows more for our imagination) than on-screen in literal form.
Swagger is a former Marine scout sniper. The super elite marksman is still bitter from being left out to dry by his superiors years earlier when mysterious high-ranking ex-Army officer Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) recruits him for a special mission.
Thinking he’ll be helping with presidential security, Swagger is instead being set up as a pawn in a grand conspiracy that reaches all the way from the clandestine halls of Langley, Va., to a Montana senator (played by the formidable Ned Beatty). Only rookie FBI agent Nick Memphis (Michael Peña) and the voluptuous girlfriend (Kate Mara) of his loyal late sniper partner are on his side as Swagger attempts to prove his innocence and settle the score.
Though the clichés of the Hollywood revenge fantasy definitely apply here, the strength and charisma of Wahlberg’s performance make them tolerable. He brings credibility and an everyman beauty to his hard-edged characters, as the star’s work last year in Martin Scorsese’s crime epic “The Departed” and the football rouser “Invincible” also proved. Thanks to him in the lead, “Shooter” shoots and scores.
‘Shooter’
4/5 stars
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Danny Glover, Michael Pena
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Rated R for strong graphic violence and some language
