Not Quite A Bullseye, But Close Enough!!!

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2017)

If you read Stephen Hunter's absorbing conspiracy thriller "Point of Impact," you may have issues with the cinematic adaptation from "Training Day" director Antoine Fuqua and "The Devil's Advocate" scenarist Jonathan Lemkin who also penned the story for "Lethal Weapon 4." Fuqua and Lemkin left a lot out of the movie that made Hunter's novel both compelling and suspenseful. Primarily, the time that the film took place has been altered drastically from Vietnam where our hero was a sniper to a hush hush massacre in Africa where hundreds of innocent women and children were slaughtered without a qualm for oil and money. "Shooter" is the title that Paramount Pictures replaced Hunter's "Point of Impact," and Mark Wahlberg plays the steely-eyed protagonist, former Marine Sergeant Bob Lee Swagger, who is duped into working with a patriotic organization assigned to protect the president. Actually, what these devious dastards, led by a smarmy Danny Glover, are setting up is a frame to fit the unsuspecting Swagger. An African archbishop is assassinated in public view while receiving a medal from POTUS, and Bob Lee—who came along to watch the ceremony—makes a miraculous escape. FBI Agent Nicholas Memphis collides with him, and Bob Lee not only disarms him adroitly but also steals his official Bureau cruiser to make his getaway. Eventually, these two will team up, but the dastards who tried to kill Bob Lee start to tie off any loose ends, and they kill the uniformed policeman who shot Bob Lee during the assassination in Baltimore. Although it isn't as faithful as it could have been to Hunter's impressive novel with its plethora of history, "Shooter" still qualifies as a polished, well-made, actioneer. Fuqua knows how to orchestrate these films, and he has proved that he knows what he's doing with "The Replacement Killers," "The Equalizer," and "The Magnificent Seven." Fuqua's audio commentary on the DVD is exemplary, and you will learn a lot about nothing only the movie but also some of the things that happened during the production. Since he doesn't mention Stephen Hunter's name once during his commentary, Fuqua must not have been familiar with it. Ned Beatty of "Deliverance" fame makes a first-rate villain.