Shooter

A simple and straightforward action film, where the screenwriter probably got fired in the middle of the shooting and then it was just improvisation. Fortunately, Antoine Fuqua can still do it, and Mark Wahlberg is good with these badasses, so in the end, it's an inoffensive average. (22/04/2007)

Bob Lee Swagger may not be the new Jason Bourne, but his great luck is that he doesn't want to be. He wants to be an old-school, uncompromising hero, and he excels at it. Wahlberg is excellent as a cold-blooded machine, and his sniper performances, whether in a war atmosphere or in the quiet snow, fascinated me with every shot and deliberate quickness. And when he makes fun of patriotic speeches, it's settled. I'm not saying that Shooter is flawless, because the villains keep repeating lines like "Swagger is still alive," even though they don't make much effort to catch him, but such stumbling adds a little charm to a good action film. (24/07/2007)

Leaving aside the fact that Wahlberg is like a Terminator in every shootout, none of the highly trained soldiers can hit him, he quickly aims in any direction, and after a few hard hits from his automatic weapon, the enemy lies on the ground, this is pretty solid action entertainment with excellently outlined sniper themes. Above all, I liked that long-range shooting is portrayed in a more realistic way, and the viewer can see that it's not just about having the biggest telescope and the longest rifle. It's a shame that, on the other hand, the script is filled with clichés and the aforementioned super Wahlberg, who, after the initial shot in the back, acts too badass and it's quite annoying. (20/05/2008)

This isn’t downright bad. After all, the beginning throws out a hook and it carries on pretty well, but ab hour later, instead of heading for an action ending, absolutely unexplainably and needlessly it starts dragging things out and out and out... In some places there’s a good moment, while occasionally there’s horrendous one (the flashback with the helicopter is pure, undiluted hell), but most of the time it keeps within the boring, stagnant, completely uninteresting waters of a mundane B-movie that is pretending to be more than is. Simply another standard offering from the routineer that Fuqua is, was and always will be. (03/07/2007)

It is a well-known fact that fans of the action genre do not need a film to have a good script, because an action film is based on other values, and Shooter is a typical example of this. The script is ridiculous and is a condensed collection of the most clichéd elements, complemented by typically pathetic-patriotic speeches about democracy, love for the homeland, justice, etc. It is actually a typical Seagal movie, though (even though routine) better handled in terms of direction and above all, significantly better acted. Mark Wahlberg fits well into these types of roles. For genre fans, it is a decent film with several uncompromising fights, an invincible hero, and wicked villains. Others will probably suffer during the dull dialogues, obvious inconsistencies, and predictable fights. Overall impression: 25%. (25/10/2009)