This is one of those movies that you watch and because it’s pretty good, you wonder how the director could have made other movies like Olympus Has Fallen? Shooter isn’t as good as Training Day but it’s definitely one of Antoine Fuqua better films.
The first half is especially well done and gripping as we see the conspiracy set up and played out. The shootouts are realistic and do a great job of showcasing sniper techniques. Mark Walberg is pretty good as the lead as well. One of my favorite things about this movie is the cameo by Levi Helm (Drummer for The Band). It kind of makes me sad to watch his little part now because he lost his battle with cancer several years ago but he’s pretty great in this small role.
Where things fall apart just a bit is in the handling of Kate Mara’s character. She starts off strong but then is relegated to being a victim of abuse (possibly sexual) in the second half. By the end, you feel her story wasn’t even told and she just kind of fizzles out with an unearned revenge scene that seems out of place. Rhona Mitra suffers a similar problem. Her character is there to relay inside info about the FBI to Bob but about 3/4 in, she is not heard from again and you start to wonder why she was even in the film in the first place.
Those nitpicks aside, Shooter is quite good overall and paints a heavy-handed yet interesting picture of government conspiracy and lies.