Formulaic action flick

Rating: 7/10 (22 July 2009)

Formulaic action picture is saved by a couple of outstanding action sequences, one of them occurring at the film's opening and the other about two thirds of the way through. Mark Wahlberg plays a retired CIA sniper who is coaxed back into duty when it appears the president is being targeted for assassination. But it turns out to be a setup involving an entirely different target, and Wahlberg is meant to be the fall guy. Except he doesn't fall down for anybody, and soon is on the comeback trail. You'll smell the setup and the bad guys right away, and the film draws to a predictable, by-the-number conclusion. The battle scene that kicks off the movie and a later, massive firefight help keep this B-flick from being a complete disaster. Wahlberg is OK, although I would have preferred someone like Matt Damon in the lead, except I doubt the film was budgeted for someone of Damon's stature. Danny Glover and Ned Beatty costar, more or less, and their age is showing. I suspect most of the money for this one went into those two heart-stopping action sequences.