Just another generic, clichéd action movie.

Rating: 5/10 (15 April 2007)

Shooter is the story of an expert military sniper named Bob Lee Swagger who becomes a recluse after his partner is killed in battle. Some government officials track him down and tell him that an assassin is planning to shoot the President from a mile away. They want Swagger to use his expertise to tell them where the assassin might be shooting from. Swagger agrees, but when he is framed with the shooting himself, he sets out on a journey to find out who set him up and why. There's nothing particularly bad about this movie per se, it just doesn't stand out among the countless other films like it.
The movie is written rather well and the plot isn't too bad. In fact, this is probably one of the most realistic films about a sniper that's out there. I actually learned in this movie just how much comes into play when you're planning to pick someone off, and it's not as easy as other movies make it seem at all. For instance, even the spin of the Earth itself comes into play when you're firing a sniper rifle. Scenes like that were done well. My main problem was the rest of the movie, though filled with some decent gun fights, fist fights, and explosions, is just so bland. It's the same action movie I've seen dozens of times. A guy gets framed and starts a one man war in order to prove his innocence. I can't think of any other way to describe this movie other than meh, or perhaps blah. It's just one of those movies that's just there. It's not advertised a whole lot, it isn't a failure at the box office but it isn't much of a success either.
The acting was okay. Mark Whalberg gave the only good performance. After Saw, and now this, I am quickly losing all confidence in Danny Glover. Everyone else in the movie is just alright. No outstanding performances.
Overall, the movie wasn't terrible, but I'm not going to watch it again.
5/10