When Fiction Speaks The Truth !

Rating: 7/10 (26 February 2010)

Now this is an action thriller to live long.
In this script, (Rambo) meets (The Fugitive) in a very good way. It gives us hot conflict, action, and - surprisingly - serious points. True that all the factors were used hundreds of times before, like: kill the friend, frame the innocent, kidnap the girl to threaten the good guy, or having a helpful sidekick, a noble hero who doesn't die tragically, and an eraser solution for the big gamers lastly.. but it worked, sometimes highly. For instance, look at the meeting in the snow, where the hidden shooters have been killed one by one by another, smarter, hidden shooter; this is unusual stuff for what's supposed to be usual short scene. Or how there is always someone to spell out the missing facts, and answer most of the questions, though this time it was "for keeping you till they come, and it must be the truth otherwise you'd leave!". And it got more than a hot time..
The thing about the political satire is that it's so familiar nowadays to pick up the evil guys from the newspaper's front page, namely out of the politicians or the president's men. For one reason, they got out of their holiness since Watergate, and for another, the common evil guys ran out of gloss already. Let alone how powerful they are, and how hateful they can be too. But when it comes to (Shooter), it's not another (Absolute Power - 1997)'s dealing where the president of the Untied States is totally insane bad guy. It has politically involved evil guys, and a political point of view as well.
Although the characterization fits another commercial Hollywood moneymaker, but not with a peaceful manner this round. Here, you'll hear great lines like when the corrupt Senator (Charles F. Meachum) speaks his mind freely: "There are no sides. There are no Sunnis and Shiites. There's no Democrats and Republicans. There's only haves and have-nots.", or: "This is a country, where the Secretary of Defense can go on TV, and tell the American public, oh, that this is about freedom! It's not about oil! And nobody questions him, because they don't wanna hear the answer, because it's a lie!". It's obvious, so bitter, remark about the filthy war in Iraq, which links up perfectly with Mr. (Rate) character's remark, which I loved the most, about the big lies: "They also said that artificial sweeteners were safe, WMDs were in Iraq, and Anna Nicole married for love." They are great lines, simply because they're true!
There is such a striking satire against the plots of the undeclared American policy since (J.F.K) assassination: notice well how the crime scene, in the movie, is so unquestionably similar to the one of (Kennedy)'s, how eliminating the killers fast is a security move to hide the higher real conspirators which's mentioned clearly in the movie's dialogue, then see the similarity between the name of the movie's lead (Bob Lee Swagger) and the name of (Kennedy)'s supposed assassin, who had been killed vaguely, (Lee Harvey Oswald). Actually the movie, while being the fair fare, connects angrily and finely many hidden plots from the 1960, in latent way, with the recent wars in Ethiopia or Iraq, however in explicit way, to assure that power and money were the real motives all along. And it's no mistake if you find yourself asking where did I see before that shot of that fat bald Senator, played by (Ned Beatty), firing a shotgun near the camera in hunting gear, because the answer is quite known: it's (Dick Cheney); the Vice President of (George W. Bush) at the moment, or as what (David Letterman) used to call him: "The Lie Count"!
The script's only point of weakness remains at its last 10 minutes. Yes, the lead had to burn his important evidence, the mobile's record, just to ensure his life until getting to the investigation's authority. Yes, he had his proof of innocence within his gun. But any of these, if managed to keep him alive and prove him not guilty, doesn't relate a thing to Colonel (Isaac Johnson), played by (Danny Glover), at all. So it was so naive moment when they showed the committee of investigation the photos of the massacre of Ethiopia; this is in no way a childish conviction, or a complete "blank shot". Moreover, when the movie triumphs eventually for the bloody justice of revenge as a substitute for the incapable law, it's nothing but easy, so tacky, even predictable solution that lowered (Shooter) to be a (Death Wish) movie, with high quality and earnest talk!
The direction made a close to flawless job. Every minute was catchy and masterful, with plentiful satisfying action. The acting wasn't that great, but the script didn't go deep much, so it kind of served the main aims. It's only (Michael Peña) as (Memphis) who seemed like clueless idiot, and (Glover)'s voice that seemed utterly sick. The music didn't try to emphasize any important sense, or leave any effect.
Despite anything, this above average entertaining movie will live long indeed. After years, hope not to be too long, it will be re-watched with more appreciation for being that bold at its time, to say the truth about what not many of the major studios' movies dared to even speak about or hint to. Hence, with assured next books, TV shows, etc. that will say the truth about the 2000s decade, the other Vietnam (or Vietnams!), and the real motives--this movie will be there and ready. Sometimes, fiction has truth more than what reality does!