Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.

For all its twisty-turning plot diversions, double crosses and conspiracy theorizing, the latest film from director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) is surprisingly simple and straightforward. In his first post-Oscar nomination role, Mark Wahlberg plays former Marine Corps sniper Bob Lee Swagger (I think the name says it all) who narrowly survived a mission in Ethiopia in which his spotter was killed. Years later, Swagger is living a solitary and secluded life in the mountains when his country (in the form of a colonel played by Danny Glover) comes calling for him to assist in stopping an assassin from killing the president. Swagger's expertise as a sniper makes him ideal to spot where and when in the city of Philadelphia a long-range killer might take his shot. When an African leader standing directly behind the president is killed instead, Swagger realizes that he has been set up as a patsy for the shooting, since he fits the profile of the angry serviceman pissed off at his country.

After being hit by two bullets, Swagger narrowly escapes every branch of law enforcement, and he sets out to find out who has set him up and get his payback. There are some clever bits of tactical warfare in Shooter, but the film itself is a mixed bag. It was amusing that Wahlberg's character is so clearly cast in the mold of a conservative military type, but his conspiracy theories and clear sense of right and wrong make him decidedly anti-Iraq War and anti-Bush (who is not supposed to be the current president in this film). There were several moments in the film where I could clearly see a way Swagger could get out of his "wrong man" predicament, but the script ignores them in favor of keeping the film alive and the body count high. Fuqua also spends entirely too much time in a secondary story about Swagger's dead partner's widow (Kate Mara of We Are Marshall), who he goes to for help and healing. My favorite supporting role is that of a rookie FBI agent (Michael Pena, recently scene in World Trade Center) who is the only person who believes Swagger is innocent.

Shooter is loaded with a whole lot of explosions and nifty, long-range killings that will have audiences cheering for our well-trained underdog. And it's actually a nice change to see Wahlberg play a character who is sometimes unsure how to balance his mission and his sworn duty. His soft-spoken (bordering on mumbling sometimes) demeanor and quiet strength are in sharp contrast to the cocky character he played in The Departed, and I'm always in favor of an actor showing us his range. My biggest complaint about the film is that the bad guys (who also include a Montana senator played by Ned Beatty) are so overtly evil, it's almost laughable. There is scene in which the baddest of the bad guys (who arranged the shooting) are sitting around smoking big cigars, drinking bourbon, and cackling like jackals. Laying it a bit thick, aren't you, Antoine?

Perhaps the bigger problem with the film is that I never believed that a supposed conspiracy theorist like Swagger would have gotten caught up in this game. And if you don't buy into his intelligence on such a basic level, the rest of the film is tough to buy into. Despite this hefty flaw, Shooter has its moments. I particularly liked the final showdown atop the snowcapped mountains of Montana. What's going on in the scene may be laughable at times, but it sure does look pretty. This one may qualify as a guilty pleasure.

Capone