I do like action movies, especially when they are done well. Most of the time, all the focus is on the action which tends to result in a weak plot. I don’t mind those movies at times when I’m in the mood for a mindless action movie. It is nice to see one that has a fairly strong plot at times as well. Marc Wahlburg’s new movie Shooter is one of the action movies with an actual plot.

Bob Lee Swagger had been a highly trained sniper when he was in the military. After his last mission ended badly, he moved to a secluded home in the mountains where he lived with his dog. Three and a half years later, Colonel Isaac Johnson tracked down Bob, saying his help was needed to stop an assassination. Colonel Johnson believed that Bob would know what to look for because of his sniper training. Bob wasn’t interested at first but he later changed his mind. Things went very badly, with Bob being shot and framed. He managed to get away and got help from Sarah. FBI agent Nick Memphis thought certain things didn’t add up and he was looking into things on his own. After he had a little bit of time to recover from his injuries, Bob put a plan in motion to clear his name.

Shooter was one of the better action movies that I’ve seen in a long time. There was a lot of action throughout the movie that kept things interesting. That also helped to keep the pace moving along at a good speed without dragging even though it was a long movie. The action scenes were well done and looked believable for the most part. Certain things were done in a couple of scenes that weren’t as believable, like when Bob was running through a shower of bullets with no cover and wasn’t hit. Slow motion was used in a few sequences without it being overused like has happened in many other movies. This movie had an actual interesting plot that made sense instead of being a mindless action movie. Bob did talk about things that snipers would need to know when setting up shots and all of that was much more complex than I had realized it would be. The movie was based on the book Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter. I’ve never read the book so I don’t know what might have been changed for the movie.

Violence was included in basically all of the action scenes. Bob was involved in all of those sequences in some way. There was also some violence added into a few other non-action scenes involving other characters. There were fights, shootings, and explosions used throughout the movie. Several scenes got very violent, with a few being extremely graphic. People were injured and a lot of blood was shown. There were a couple of scenes that I could have done without seeing, including when Bob was trying to doctor his wounds himself. That scene wasn’t as graphic as many others, but I just don’t deal well with those types of things. The movie definitely deserved the R rating. This is not a movie that children of any age should see. People that don’t like violent movies should stay away from this one.

Shooter didn’t include any romance though there was some attraction between Bob and Sarah. There were one or two sexual situations between them that didn’t go anywhere. There were no sex scenes in the movie. It was hinted that something of a sexual nature happened to one character without the actual act being shown. Sarah wore a few form fitting shirts and was in only a bra and jeans in a couple of scenes. Bob was shown without his shirt in a few scenes as well. He was in really good shape. That was it for any nudity in the movie.

Bob was the main character in Shooter and most developed. He had been very good at his job as a sniper. He became disillusioned with the government after his last mission but he remained very patriotic. He had kept up his sniper skills in the years since he had left the military. He was very resourceful, smart, and very determined to clear his name. Marc Wahlburg did a very good job with the part. Sarah wasn’t as developed, but she did become more important later in the movie. Kate Mara was good in the part that was very different from the ones she played in We Are Marshall and Zoom.

There wasn’t much of anything shared about Colonel Johnson. There was more to him than there seemed to be at first. Danny Glover handled the part well. Ned Beatty turned up in a few short scenes as a Senator. Nick Memphis was an FBI agent that thought things weren’t adding up in the case against Bob. Nick hadn’t been an agent for long but that didn’t stop him from digging for answers on his own. Michael Pena was fine in the part. Some other FBI agents were around in several scenes without receiving any development.

Main Cast

Ned Beatty - Senator Charles F. Meechum
Danny Glover - Colonel Johnson
Kate Mara - Sarah
Michael Pena - Nick Memphis
Marc Wahlburg - Bob Lee Swagger

Antoine Faqua - Director

Shooter was a good, entertaining action movie that had a strong plot. It is worth watching for anyone who enjoys action movies. Fans of Marc Wahlburg may also enjoy it.

Marc Wahlburg Movie Reviews
The Departed ~ Four Brothers ~ Invincible ~ The Italian Job ~


Recommended: Yes