Has potential, but is very unrealistic

Rating: 4/10 (17 December 2014)

5 years ago, when Shooter first came out, I thought it was great; And honestly, it truly is a good movie. I remember being on a Marky-Mark, Bourne kick, where I was seeking constant action and excitement. As a 14 year old, not diving in and only looking at this movie on the surface, it was a fun and exciting movie to watch, just as I had wished. However, as hard as it tries and as much as it wants to be, Shooter is not a realistic action movie.
I must give credit where credit is due, and applaud director, Antoine Fuqua. Fuqua does a great job focusing on the contrasting close ups and wide shots early in the movie. Although a poorly generated computer image, the opening scene's wide shots resemble natural human vision, wide and vast. This theme of "looking down the barrel" continues throughout the movie as it contrasts with the frequent close ups, resembling the view you'd get looking down the scope of a Swagger's Barret. As I mentioned, it's trying to be realistic and Antoine Fuqua - A for effort man, but this film falls very short from realistic.
It can be argued that most "good" action movies have to have some sorts of craziness in it to stand out; and I'd agree and say that's true. But there are many issues and many more "goofs" in this film that I couldn't get over. How cliché of a setting is the dangerous mission in the small innocent African village? Why does an entire village have to be blown to smithereens and everyone's life taken because of some evil, money hungry men in the west? As a member of the United States Army, it bothers me that Gunnery Sergeant (a rank that only exists in the Marine Corps) Bob Lee Swagger is first introduced to us wearing the Army Combat Uniform. Yes, it is a minor detail, but it is kind of a big deal to service members. As a sniper, concealment is everything. No soldier would come out of their prone, unknown position to try and take on helicopter and a platoon-sized element on their own. Swagger and spotter, Donnie, left for dead behind enemy lines..? We are talking about the US Army, or the United States Marine Corps (not sure which branch to reference) either way, the most powerful and sophisticated military and government in the world. In no situation, would any branch of the military "leave a fallen comrade," nor would such a high profile assassination in government be held together with just a senator, Colonel, and their foot soldiers. As with all the goofs, they are all little, minute details that must have been overlooked, effectively tarnishing its sense of authenticity.
I also find it very difficult to believe that a fresh out of academy, FBI agent Memphis (Michael Pena) would be so quick to jump sides. The most realistic approach would be to stay on the FBI side and work more in depth on the evidence if he felt so strongly against the allegations on Swagger. Like mentioned, the FBI is still US Government. The FBI would have much more resources to track Memphis before Swagger, a fugitive at this time, would be able to locate Memphis with his attackers. The whole movie jumps. It'd be nice to see the planning or the recon done by Swagger to justify his moves always being one step ahead of the entire FBI. In Shooter, Swagger is portrayed as superhero that has the god sent ability to avoid all but two of the thousands of rounds shot at him in the 2-hour movie. Swagger either managed to dig up Wonder Woman's bulletproof bracelet or the entire team of the FBI and SWAT agents must have been 12 year olds and got their only combat training from a Call of Duty video game. It's common sense to lead a moving target; how Swagger out runs every round shot at him by two officers posted up on a hovering helicopter is beyond me. The same is true with the helicopter pilots. Their only training must have come solely from a flight simulator. How to you miss a stationary target with two mounted M230 chain guns firing 624 rounds per minute? All the pilot would have to do is wiggle the cyclic stick or tap the rudder pedals in the helicopter to create a spray that would have most definitely taken out Swagger.
The ending is also a disaster. No matter how upset Swagger maybe, it's pretty unrealistic to go Hugo Chavez on the senator and colonel. It's irrational. Swagger had no signs of PTSD or anything else that could possibly justify their murder. Swagger would instantly be the number one suspect; He has already proved to the world that he's capable of what is literally, the impossible. With this country's judicial system, they would have been in custody awaiting trial immediately after Swagger's release.
Action movies are great. Many are unrealistic, but I guess we like the fantasy right? That's fine. I just feel like Shooter tried too hard to be realistic when it is not. That's my problem. They made an effort, but it wasn't a very strong ever. They went into to great detail where it wasn't really needed. There are numerous plot holes that could have been given more attention instead.
So, in short, Shooter really is a good movie, don't get me wrong. For a weekend on Netflix, this is a great choice if you're feeling like vegging out on the couch and not using your brain for a couple hours. However, you have been warned: Critically thinking, If you try to think through this movie, its very possible you will get very annoyed, very fast.