“Yesterday was about honor, today is about justice” is what a brilliant marksman has to prove after he is framed as a presidential assassin.
Based on the novel “Point of Impact” by Stephen Hunter, “Shooter” is about a former Marine Scout Sniper, Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg), who loses his partner during a failed mission in Africa.
Distressed and emotionally wounded he leaves his job and retreats to a remote mountain dwelling with his dog. After three years, a retired colonel, Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) pays him a visit to tell him that America needs his help.
Doubtless, the never-ending thrilling actions of the movie will hold the viewer’s attention from start to finish. Almost every 10 minutes the screen is filled with splitting heads from a mile and blowing up buildings. The high speed car chases will make one’s heart pound.
Johnson tells Swagger that someone is out there to kill the president and he needs Swagger’s help to stop the threat through his experience in long-range ballistics. After Swagger rejects the plea Johnson reminds Swagger that he has solemnly swore to protect America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
The movie depicts Americans’ loss of faith in the government after 9/11 terrorist attack followed by the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions. Although, Swagger was betrayed once before by the government he agrees to serve his country one last time, only to realize that he has been double-crossed and framed for the attempted murder of the President and the murder of the Ethiopian archbishop.
Wounded with two bullets Swagger is running against the clock to find the real hit men and prove his innocence when he realizes that his life is at stake.
As Swagger states in the movie, “the government spent a lot of money to teach me how not to die.” He uses all the techniques he learned in the military to stay alive. With nowhere to turn to he finds his friend’s widowed wife Sarah Fenn (Kate Mara) who helps Swagger recover from the two bullet wounds.
With the help of an FBI agent, Nick Memphis (Michael Pe§a), Swagger learns that the conspiracy and the innocent lives taken in Africa are all about oil money.
One might argue that this is exactly what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan and we need someone like Swagger to stop the ensuing war that has claimed the lives of many American troops and innocent Iraqi people.
Swagger, in his quest for revenge, takes down the most powerful people in the country including Senator Charles F. Meachum (Ned Beatty). Meachum and Johnson think they get away with their crimes, but Swagger proves them wrong.
The movie will certainly make one uncertain whether our government can be trusted and wonder if protecting us against all harm and providing us with the luxuries we are used to is done in a moral way.
Rating **** out of 4