Film

Antoine Fuqua - Shooter

Paul Cook 07/05/2007

Rating: 3/5

Surprisingly riveting and kept to a short and swift 2 hours, Shooter is one of the best sniper-action thrillers since “Enemy at the Gates,” bringing a contemporary and topical subject matter to the genre. A stalwart performance from Wahlberg and stunning visual effects, create a world with which the audience can engage and engross themselves in for the duration.

Having already surpassed the $70million mark, making the budget back in the States alone, Shooter is racing up the box office charts, and deservedly so. Director Antoine Fuqua has mastered the technique of heightening tension and building suspense. The pace and tempo of the film is spot on, relentless and uncompromising with a dark, deceitful atmosphere throughout.

Great espionage substance and a twisting plot help this film to be a dark, unforgiving tale of a man's struggle for justice. Unfortunately Hollywood big-budget, bums-on-seats values get in the way of a damn good thriller, drowning it in an awful irony. Whilst Swagger is innocent he finds no problem with shooting, stabbing and burning those that get in the way of his fight for 'justice', totally laying waste to any morals.

But who needs morals? This is Hollywood. We've got Jason Bourne to give us our moral kicks and with an 'Ultimatum' on the way in the summer, Shooter suffices and satisfies our need for a rollicking good action thriller.