"Tennessee:Patron State of Shooting Stuff"

Rating: 7/10 (7 January 2013)

The Bourne Legacy meets Sniper! Exciting action/drama. Played like a video game but still well done.
Mark Walhberg as Bob Lee Swagger did a great and believable job. Makes me wonder and imagine how he would have handle the Matt Damon role of Jason Bourne.
Nice to see a Latino actor in a co-starring role. Michael Peña as Nick Memphis was not bad. Walhberg was the star but Peña held his own.
Danny Glover as Colonel Isaac Johnson was a treat. Glover as a bad guy was nice to see him cast against type.
The cute and small Kate Mara as Sarah Fenn, the widow of Swagger's dead buddy. was in a way OK but she and Walhberg had no chemistry whatsoever.
The great Elias Koteas as Jack Payne, one of Glover's cronies was a disappointment. Anyone else could have done this thankless role. His rape and beating and torturing of Lil Mara (off screen thank goodness) was just bad and unnecessary. Koteas is one of my favorites but here he was just wasted. What a shame.
The lovely but intense Rhona Mitra as Alourdes Galindo, Peña's fellow FBI colleague. Was OK. Again she and Peña's Memphis had no chemistry whatsoever. She seems so 'cougar-ish' and Peña seems so nerdish.
Tate Donovan as Russ Turner, another fellow FBI colleague of Peña's, was completely wasted in this thankless and meager role. I don't understand what he gained by taking this literally cameo/bit role? It's always nice to see familiar faces in a film, but when they are in roles that just about any extra could have done, just doesn't make sense.
The great Rade Serbedzija as Michael Sandor, a fellow disabled shooter recruited by Glover was not bad. his one scene with Walhberg was really good. His line, "I'm just one dead man talking to another." Priceless.
The great Ned Beatty as the Senator Charles F. Meachum, was also a treat as was Glover's. Beatty playing a bad guy was nice.
The late great Levon Helm as Mr. Rate,the gun experts, was a very wonderful treat. Helm just stole the few scenes he was in with Walhberg.This was to be one of his final films. He made one more film and apparently retire because ,I'm assuming ,of bad health. He passed away in 2012.
Jonathan Walker as Louis Dobbler another of Glover's cronies did a little better job than Koteas did. He had a bit more to do and say per say. He reminded me of another actor, Michael Emerson in this role. Kind of looks like Emerson in some scenes.
Louis Ferreira as Head FBI guy Howard Purnell was nice. He had few scenes but made count the scenes he was in nonetheless.
And last but not least, Melissa McCarthy (of Mike and Molly fame) does an uncredited bit as a Night store clerk Walhberg encounters on his getaway from the FBI. I didn't know or recognized her, her scene was way too brief but thanks to IMDb, now I know! :)