Even from watching the trailer, it’s evident that Shooter is a guy’s film. Having watched it, I can safely say that no guy will walk out of the theatre disappointed. Shooter is all high-tech action and big guns, in the style of Rambo, but with added intelligence and wit, sharp dialogue and, despite the presence of a gorgeous female sidekick, there’s no love story, just lots of rugged locations, explosions and gunfights, and tutorials teaching you how to dress a gaping wound with basic household supplies.

The movie starts off with a flashback of how Mark Wahlberg, as Bob Lee Swagger, a Marines Gunnery Sergeant, opts out of the force after a mission fails in Africa and his superiors abandon him and his partner in the field.

3 years later, Swagger’s living like a recluse in a mountain cabin with just his sniper rifles and a dog for company. He seems at peace, especially when we see him perched atop the mountain with his 4-legged best friend, get a look at his well-stocked, well-furnished cabin, with a computer that surprisingly, is plugged into the Internet. Watching the opening mountain sequence makes the boys in all men dream of having similar living quarters, living life at such relative ease, in an almost Zen-like environment, doing nothing but the occasional gardening, and the infrequent shooting.

Of course, things don’t remain this way for long. When an envoy from Washington (Danny Glover) comes all the way into the mountains to inform him that a sniper assassin is stalking the president and that Swagger’s help is needed to point out potential sniping sites and prevent the assassination from happening, his patriotism is stirred up, and he agrees, leaving his serene surroundings and dog behind. Before you can even say “what’s going on?”, Swagger is caught up in an intriguing conspiracy fully stocked with high-powered weapons, helicopter and car chases, and spectacular explosions.

With the help of his best friend’s widow Sarah Fenn (Kate Mara), who looks stunning in a mini skirt and makes eyes pop when she twirls her rifle with relative ease, and an FBI rookie (Michael Pena) fresh out of the academy, Swagger hunts for the assassins – professionals that have connections all the way to the top, the corruption is so evident, so far-fetched throughout the Senate, the CIA, the military and big corporations, it’s obvious it’s a political satire.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Jonathan Lemkin, Shooter is based on the novel Point of Impact, the first in a Swagger trilogy, written by Stephen Hunter, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post film critic. So it’s no surprise that the movie starts off on a high note, and after the mandatory sedentary shots, carries on with all the fast-paced action that can rival even an F1 race. Fuqua is especially good at depicting adrenaline-pumping adventure (having directed Denzel Washington to a best actor Oscar in 2001’s Training Day as well as the military flick Tears of the Sun), and it shows.

Wahlberg, last seen in The Departed as Dignam which garnered him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, is simply fantastic in this movie. He does a perfect job as Swagger. He has tremendous onscreen presence, and after shaving off the beard that he sports at his mountain cabin (to return back to his military self), he actually looks disarmingly suave. His well-built body is fit for the role and he can out-muscle Rambo in combat, if necessary.

The one standout scene from the movie is when Swagger stumbles into Sarah’s house, and asks for help to dress a large gaping wound. We then see her do this using simple household supplies. Hands up all those who took down notes on how to do it , I sure did.

Kate Mara (last seen in We Are Marshall as well as roles in 24 and CSI as well as the GAP print ads) is fantastic in her depiction as Sarah Fenn. It cements her reputation as one of Hollywood’s fastest rising stars of today, and with her beauty, she’s sure to go far. The onscreen chemistry between her and Wahlberg is exceptional, and the sexual tension, electrifying. You can feel them both wanting each other, yet both not wanting to make the first move, perhaps, out of respect for Swagger’s dead best friend, Sarah’s dead husband.

Michael Pena and Danny Glover both also put excellent acting, Pena as the bumbling FBI rookie who then makes good, while Glover is the evil scheming envoy who lures Wahlberg out of his mountain cabin.

The best action sequence is when Pena is roughed up by a few of Glover’s henchmen, and from the lake just outside where Pena’s being beaten up, Swagger picks up his sniper rifle (a replacement that Mara hands to him), and kills all of Glover’s henchmen, thereby rescuing Pena. The action scenes are at times unpredictable, which sets the movie apart from the also ran others.

Shooter is an excellent movie, but best enjoyed if you can appreciate political satire. If you’re going to watch it just for the action and entertainment, you are still in for a blast. After all, as Swagger explains of his revengeful rampage, “You don’t understand, those guys killed my dog!”

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Movie Details
Opens: 5 April
Runtime: 124 minutes
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kata Mara, Michael Pena
Director: Antoine Fuqua

Photos courtesy of UIP.