Simply Perfect

Memorable, crazy movie

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

If you read Stephen Hunter's absorbing conspiracy thriller "Point of Impact," you may have issues with the cinematic adaptation from "Training Day" director Antoine Fuqua and "The Devil's Advocate" scenarist Jonathan Lemkin who also penned the story for "Lethal Weapon 4." Fuqua and Lemkin left a lot out of the movie that made Hunter's novel both compelling and suspenseful. Primarily, the time that the film took place has been altered drastically from Vietnam where our hero was a sniper to a hush hush massacre in Africa where hundreds of innocent women and children were slaughtered without a qualm for oil and money. "Shooter" is the title that Paramount Pictures replaced Hunter's "Point of Impact," and Mark Wahlberg plays the steely-eyed protagonist, former Marine Sergeant Bob Lee Swagger, who is duped into working with a patriotic organization assigned to protect the president. Actually, what these devious dastards, led by a smarmy Danny Glover, are setting up is a frame to fit the unsuspecting Swagger. An African archbishop is assassinated in public view while receiving a medal from POTUS, and Bob Lee—who came along to watch the ceremony—makes a miraculous escape. FBI Agent Nicholas Memphis collides with him, and Bob Lee not only disarms him adroitly but also steals his official Bureau cruiser to make his getaway. Eventually, these two will team up, but the dastards who tried to kill Bob Lee start to tie off any loose ends, and they kill the uniformed policeman who shot Bob Lee during the assassination in Baltimore. Although it isn't as faithful as it could have been to Hunter's impressive novel with its plethora of history, "Shooter" still qualifies as a polished, well-made, actioneer. Fuqua knows how to orchestrate these films, and he has proved that he knows what he's doing with "The Replacement Killers," "The Equalizer," and "The Magnificent Seven." Fuqua's audio commentary on the DVD is exemplary, and you will learn a lot about nothing only the movie but also some of the things that happened during the production. Since he doesn't mention Stephen Hunter's name once during his commentary, Fuqua must not have been familiar with it. Ned Beatty of "Deliverance" fame makes a first-rate villain.

If you were given chance to be in defense, what post would have you opted for. For me without any doubt it would have been sniper. But I am not in defense for a few reasons. It stays clear that I like heroes in single as lead. For example if we consider animated universe I like spider man, superman, flash or anybody portrayed in single lead over a group. The movie is how a highly trained sniper is drawn into murder charges by high authority people and how he gains his revenge. The genre is thriller, best of its kind, It is a must watch.rating: 8.5/10.

If you're into conspiracy theories, then this movie is definitely for you! This is the conspiracy theory to end all conspiracy theories. It seems to involve people in all walks of life. The military is involved. There's a senator. The FBI is playing a part. Local police officers are a part of this. The wealthy are definitely in on it. It's huge. One problem with the scenario is that I never quite was able to put my finger on exactly what the conspiracy was. The movie starts with a supposed American peace-keeping mission in Ethiopia going badly wrong. But from there - while Ethiopia is always front and centre - the conspiracy seems to widen and it seems to be about more than Ethiopia. The movie just started with Ethiopia. It's there that we're introduced to the character of Bob Lee Swagger (a name you have to love) - who's played by Mark Wahlberg. Swagger survives the debacle in Ethiopia, but his friend and partner doesn't and Swagger - filled with guilt - becomes a recluse back home. Then he's recruited to help stop an assassination attempt on the president (except that it really isn't) and ends up being framed for the killing of the "Archbishop of Ethiopia" who was appearing with the president. I didn't really get the point of making the Archbishop of Ethiopia the target of the plot - unless it was to somehow imply that the Catholic Church was also involved in the conspiracy? I thought ti would have been more powerful if it had been perhaps the President of Ethiopia who was killed. Also, the scenes toward the end of the movie portraying Swagger's meeting with the director of the FBI where he clears his name seemed unlikely. At the very least, it was too easy. Just as unlikely was the meeting on the snow-capped mountain. You have to see that one to really understand it.So it's a kind of convoluted and ill-defined conspiracy, the point of which as far as I could tell was to make the rich richer? And what seem to be the climactic scenes (the two I described above) kind of sputter along unbelievably. There's certainly a lot of action in this, and it's not dull. Just a bit fuzzy around the edges if that makes any sense. I didn't really think that there was a need to develop a romance between Swagger and his late partner's widow Sarah. That seemed just too cliché for me. The performances were pretty good. Wahlberg was fine, and so was Kate Mara as Sarah and Michael Pena as the FBI agent who figures out that something's not right and ends up on Swagger's side. I did appreciate seeing veteran actors Ned Beatty as the entirely corrupt senator whose life and career seem to revolve around this conspiracy, and Danny Glover as the "Colonel" who recruits Swagger.If you're really into conspiracy theories, this certainly gives you one to remember. If you're not - well, it's not a bad time waster anyway. (5/10)

The plot of this movie is so incredibly stupid that I suspect the writers were on cocaine.One stupid example out of hundreds. The US senator arrives in a helicopter on top of a snow capped mountain while the colonel and the girl arrive in another. Mark Wahlberg comes on foot, dressed in a white snow outfit, with his sniper rifle. Now, what US senator, especially a cartoon-replica of Dick Cheney, would come to an "exchange" on top of a snow-capped mountain? Another,Wahlberg kills dozens of FBI and CIA agents, but walks away following a private meeting with the US Attorney General. This follows an assassination of the Ethiopian Bishop. Has the entire US Justice System gone incompetent?