Is “Shooter” a hidden classic? Are film watchers of the world uncovering a secret masterpiece that came and went with little fanfare in 2007?
Most certainly not. “Shooter” is the very definition of “nothing else was on” when watching it on cable TV. It’s the perfect movie for airplane viewing. It’s the type of move used to fill out a catalog or playlist, not the one people go to with enthusiasm. “Shooter” is a “comfort watch.” One might even watch it twice or three times, not because it’s intriguing, but specifically because it’s not. “Shooter” is easy to consume, easy to understand, and easily forgotten.
“Shooter” was only warmly met when it first came out opening to a mere $14 million, behind the animated film “TMNT.” It currently holds a completely appropriate 48% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Most of the reviews cited Wahlberg’s noticeable weakness at playing a stoic “tough guy” character like Bob Lee Swagger was on the page. The character is named Swagger. Perhaps hire an actor with that quality.
Arguably the most beloved thing about “Shooter” is its unabashed and irresponsible weapons fetish, a quality noted by the world’s gun nuts. There is a website out there, lost in barren, alkali flats of the internet, called the Internet Movie Firearms Database, which meticulously records details of every gun used by any character in any movie. That website’s entry for “Shooter” contains details on six sniper rifles, five assault rifles, four machine guns, eight handguns, two shotguns, and two mortar launchers. If you like cinema, “Shooter” is unapologetically mediocre. If you like bullets, eh, fuggedaboutit.
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