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SHOOTER

"Making the Bad Guys Pay"

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What You Need To Know:

SHOOTER is an action thriller with political overtones starring Mark Wahlberg as Bob Lee Swagger, a former Marine scout sniper and disgruntled American hero who walks away from his job after a devastating betrayal. Three years later, retired Col. Isaac Johnson, played by Danny Glover, convinces Swagger to help foil an assassination plot against the President. Col. Johnson and his men are setting Swagger up, however. A wounded Swagger finds himself on the run, accused of killing an Ethiopian Bishop who was with the President during the alleged assassination attempt. Hunted, Swagger tries to smoke out and destroy the forces behind Col. Johnson's plot.

SHOOTER is a rousing action movie, until it gets lost in wacky, left-wing conspiracy theories about a Machiavellian United States Senator working for oil interests exploiting Africa and misusing government power, including America's espionage and military bureaucracies. The conspirators easily manipulate the FBI bureaucracy through most of the story. In addition, although Col. Johnson's villainous character has some depth, the evil senator's character is a bit of a caricature. SHOOTER also contains very strong violence and plenty of strong foul language. Thus, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.

Content:

(PaPa, PC, B, P, ACap, AP, C, LLL, VVV, S, N, A, M) Eclectic pagan worldview with some politically correct, moral, patriotic, and anti-capitalist content, plus anti-American content where FBI bureaucracy and U.S. government are easily manipulated by Machiavellian oil interests and a Christian element where a bishop is supposedly an honorable person who is assassinated before he can stop an insidious plot of some kind (movie is a little vague about the bishop's role); 36 obscenities (including a few "f" words), two strong profanities and one "Lord knows"; very strong violence with some blood includes part of man's hand shot off, man's arm shot off, explosions, napalm sends men flying and lights them on fire, head shots, sniper shots, man shot in chest and leg, man shot in chest with shotgun and blood smears on door behind him, man shoots himself, implied rape, and some hand-to-hand combat; implied rape and some unrequited romantic tension between main couple; upper male nudity and woman in underwear; beer drinking and man gives beer to big dog; no smoking; and, revenge and vigilante justice.

More Detail:

SHOOTER is an action thriller with political overtones.

The movie opens with Gunnery Sergeant Bob Lee Swagger, one of the top three snipers in the world, secretly working in Ethiopia to stop some rebels from attacking an oil pipeline. When the action gets too hot, the people running the mission abandon Swagger and his buddy, who gets killed.

Three years later, Swagger has retired to an isolated mountain cabin, where he lives and hunts with his beer-drinking dog. One day, Swagger gets a visit from retired Colonel Isaac Johnson, played by Danny Glover. Johnson convinces Swagger to help the government foil a possible assassination plot against the President. Col. Johnson and his men are setting Swagger up, however. Eventually, a wounded Swagger finds himself on the run, accused of killing an Ethiopian Bishop who was with the President during the alleged assassination attempt.

Hunted at every turn, Swagger gets help from his dead buddy’s widow, a rookie FBI agent risking his career, and an elderly conspiracy theorist with a special knowledge of weapons. The clock is ticking as Swagger tries to smoke out and destroy the forces behind Col. Johnson’s plot.

SHOOTER is a rousing action movie, until it gets lost in wacky conspiracy theories about a Machiavellian United States Senator working for oil interests exploiting Africa and misusing government power, including America’s espionage and military bureaucracies. The conspirators easily manipulate the FBI through most of the story, until the Attorney General in charge of the Justice Dept. learns the truth. Thus, the movie has a left-wing spin. In addition, although Col. Johnson’s villainous character has some depth, the evil Senator’s character is a bit of a caricature. Apparently, in Hollywood, there are only right-wing and corporate conspiracies, never left-wing, anti-capitalist ones. The movie, which is based on a character created by a Washington Post movie critic known for occasionally criticizing some liberal movies, ameliorates its political slant by making its hero a patriotic, honorable ex-soldier. The soldier makes the bad guys pay for their crimes in the end. Mark Wahlberg is convincing enough as the hero here that moviegoers will want to see him in more action roles like this one.

SHOOTER also contains very strong violence with some blood. In the most violent scene, for instance, part of a man’s hand and his arm are shot off. There is also plenty of strong and very strong foul language in SHOOTER. Thus, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.