Great action, shame about the plot.

Rating: 5/10 (19 April 2007)

To say this film was bad would be rather harsh. The action sequences were well crafted with excellent lighting and great cinematography to boot. I was slightly disappointed however, not by the storyline but by the sluggish and ever so dumb delivery of the plot, each juncture was covered, any misnomers explained, leaving nothing for the intuitive film goer to 'get ones teeth into' so to speak. Apart from appreciating the action the film had to offer, (an appreciation of which can only, of course go so far for any film) I found myself board and disappointed by a predictable and overly simple plot / delivery combination, and also becoming agitated by the ever increasing notion that this film had been made for a remedial audience.
'Shooter' has some great scenes and Mark Wahlberg gave a gritty and distinctive performance in this film with great support from Michael Peña. I was impressed by Rade Serbedzija's performance but felt it was sadly let down somewhat by the dull script and slightly 'out of kilter' screenplay. With this in mind I think the film has not achieved what it set out to do, which was to make a gritty, epic, action thriller. Instead, apart from a couple of good performances and some good action moments, it has ended up as an easy to follow, slightly 'dumbed down' film, sure to entertain the masses yet also sadly sure to disappoint the few who might go looking for a gripping and stimulating action thriller.