By Buzz Byrne
SHOOTER is adapted from the Stephen Hunter novel “Point of Impact.” In the film, Wahlberg plays Marine marksman Bob Lee Swagger. The opening sequence shows Swagger on a mission that will lead him to self-imposed exile. It is a covert operation in Africa that goes horribly wrong and ends with his spotter/buddy meeting a gruesome, bullet-riddled end. Once the buddy shows his pocket-sized picture of his sweetheart back home, he might as well hold up a sign that says “I’M ABOUT TO DIE!”
Three years after this, Swagger is recruited by a Col. Johnson (played generically by Danny Glover) to lend his expertise and help capture someone who has threatened to assassinate the president of the United States. Of course, Swagger is being set up as the patsy; in the ensuing escape, he stumbles over and disarms FBI agent Nick Memphis (Michael Pẽna). Separately, the two pursue the real perpetrators of the assassination attempt, and eventually their path re-cross and they team up for the last hour of the movie.
Pẽna is an interesting actor and a very appropriate foil for Wahlberg’s Swagger as he shifts effortlessly from dim naïf to excitable sidekick. Wahlberg, meanwhile, excels in the role when called upon to engage on an instinctual — rather than intellectual — level. He displays a forthrightness that allows him to carry off lines like, “You don’t understand how serious this is. They killed my dog.” Think more John Rambo than Jason Bourne, and even a touch of MacGyver with bulging biceps. The female leads, Kate Mara and Rhona Mitra, are intriguing and capable.
The casting problems arise with the bad guys. Glover is listless, and while Elias Koteas has never been given the chance to stretch in a major film role, here he is unnecessarily sadistic. The emotional intensity is amped up enough without his sexual cruelty. This is probably more an issue with the script, but there is no logical impetus for his character shift to a frothing rapist. It is distracting and useless to the plot progression, and nowhere is there a hint that this will come. Similarly, Ned Beatty puts in an effort like he’s going to miss his flight, but his turn as a six-term corrupt senator from
Wyoming is written with more than a heavy hand.(Why, that man could be a snarling vice president some day! Get it? How could you miss it?)
When it comes to the politics and the conspiracy theories of the movie, it really strays from its strength as an action/revenge piece. Director Antoine Fuqua should have left this stuff simply to the inexplicable but enjoyable cameo of Levon Helm’s gun expert. We’ve seen the international corruption/shadow agency angle done over and over again. It’s like a barrage of Uzi fire when all you need is one kill shot. And maybe a little homemade napalm assembled from items purchased at your local Wal-Mart.
Despite this, Wahlberg is primed to make the leap to elite action star, fulfilling the promise he has shown in the ensemble-oriented films like THE ITALIAN JOB, THREE KINGS and, of course, THE DEPARTED. There will most definitely be a sequel, and if the producers can create/cast a compelling villain a la the DIE HARD franchise, look for the next installment to be a true summer blockbuster.