Shooter (7/10)

by Tony Medley

Save us from Hollywood people who think they know the truth about the world and politics. That’s Antoine Fuqua, the director of this action thriller. He told George “El Guapo” Roush of the Latino Review, “When I read the script…I knew we could take it a little further and at least hint around and suggest and say certain things about our political climate…I’m fascinated by things like Halliburton and Black Water. I’m curious about exactly what they do and how they affect the world…That made me want to politicize it a little bit and get that message across.” According to Fuqua, “There’s actually more of a majority now that don’t (sic) approve of our government at the moment and there is a lot of suspicion about what’s going on and Enron and our vice president’s ownership in Halliburton and these other companies and what they actually do. I think that as the opportunity arises for any filmmaker…then it’s sort of our responsibility to take the opportunity if it’s something you’re interested in. I think it’s a shame if we don’t.”

So he took his obvious lack of understanding of facts and politicized it and risked offending half the people who will see it. That’s the shame, because it is a slam-bang, nonstop man-on-the-run conspiracy thriller starring the always reliable Mark Wahlberg, based on a novel by Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter. My attention never waned.

Bob Lee Swagger (Wahlberg) is a sniper who has been abandoned by the U.S. Government after his partner, Donnie Fenn (Lane Garrison), is killed. He lives like a hermit but is pulled out of his isolation by Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) to try to prevent an assassination of the President. Unfortunately, he’s being set up. He escapes and the rest of the movie is Bob Lee trying to get away and wreak revenge, with the help of his partner’s widow, Sarah Fenn (the beautiful Kate Mara).

The film has abundant graphic violence and a repugnant moral about people taking vengeance without process of law. It’s also diminished by some truly ridiculous setups, like one where there is what seems like an entire Division out to entrap Bob Lee and his FBI expatriate buddy, Nick Memphis (Michael Peña), but, surprise! Bob Lee and Nick emerge unmarked while the entire Division is wiped out.

The explanation of the mission that Bob Lee and Donnie were on is one of the things that Fuqua politicized. Not only is it based on a counter factual premise, it, not surprisingly, paints America in a bad light (but, then, so does the entire plot). It’s also not surprising that Fuqua cast Glover in the film because Danny is well-known for his political activism, so far to the left that he buddies up with the virulent anti-American President (but de facto dictator) of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez.

There is a lot not to like about this movie. Even so, without the silly, ill-informed politics and reprehensible moral, I would have rated this much higher because I enjoyed the action and Fuqua’s expert direction of this kind of film. But morality and politics are a part of the film, and both detract. Fuqua would do well to heed the advice of Samuel Goldwyn, who said, “If you want to send a message, use Western Union.”

March 23, 2007