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Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 115 Ratings

  • Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña, Rhona Mitra
  • Summary: Shooter is an edgy, non-stop action thriller about an honorable and brilliant marksman (Wahlberg) who finds himself in an unthinkable situation: framed as a Presidential assassin. Plunged into a shocking vortex of terror and conspiracy, the rogue shooter discovers the race is on to prove his innocence even as he is pursued by every law enforcement agency in the country, as well as a shadowy organization on a relentless manhunt aimed at destroying the secrets he has uncovered. (Paramount Pictures) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 33
  2. Negative: 2 out of 33
  1. Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    80
    Shooter is a generically titled studio action picture that turns out to be a surprisingly deft satire about Americans' loss of faith in their government following the 2000 election, the 9/11 attacks, and the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  2. 75
    The movie's politics may miss their mark, but its thrills are dead-on.
  3. 60
    The picture might be entertaining if it didn't take itself so seriously.
  4. Sylvester Stallone is filming a new episode of his "Rambo" action series, but Mark Wahlberg has beaten him to the punch with Shooter, a preposterous gut buster that follows the formula so closely it would probably lose a plagiarism suit.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 43 out of 55
  2. Negative: 9 out of 55
  1. 10
    Great movie. Good suspense. Loved to watch it until the very end. A solid and intelligent thriller with a credible Mark Wahlberg as Bobby Lee, well researched delivering high class action. Watch it! Expand
  2. The movie just simply excited me..., and Mark Walhberg fit himself in the role nicely and neatly. In addition, the storyline turned itself quickly into the disappointment of Americans since the 2000 election and the 9/11 attack. Expand
  3. WilliamT
    7
    While the plot may seem a little holed to those who have not read the novel by Stephen Hunter, Shooter is a considerable thriller with some nice action sequences and decent acting from the whole cast and you'll never find yourself bored. Expand
  4. To first address the pros, "Shooter" is an engrossing and well-made thriller following a military sniper's chaotic leave of retirement after he's deceived into a new assignment and finds himself on the run from corrupt government officials. Mark Wahlberg is decent in his role as the ex-soldier turned fugitive, and Danny Glover's performance is fairly engaging, while Michael Pena is largely forgettable and unconvincing as an FBI agent who is somewhat messily pulled into the fray. The action can also be fun at times.

    However, ultimately, "Shooter" lost me with its dark, cynical and corrupt atmosphere. Whatever its true purpose, the film paints government as an evil and ruthless mugshot on our wall. Our villains, who lack any discernible thread of humanity or therefore plausibility, are perhaps two of the more callous and heartless government officials you'll find in a film, and they are virtually the only piece of government focused on in the film. There is a brief snapshot of attempted justice near the end, but that is conveniently written through a loose legal loophole to make way for a quick and bloody finale of retribution, so in the end I suppose the message is to be a vigilante and ignore all the rules since Big Brother is apparently no more than a sexually abusive, mass-murdering thug.

    I can't say if it was the movie's intention to be so pointed in its presentation, but "Shooter" is nonetheless a pointedly pessimistic film, and for me its scowling nature wasn't quite up my alley.
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