Retired United States marine Gunnery sergeant Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) was unsatisfied for being mistreated as "expandable" by his army superiors.
The movie was about the consequence of his final mission where he & his "spotter" were left to their own demise after a blotched reconnaissance mission in Africa.
Somehow, he managed to survive the sniper mission but his "spotter" team mate was killed in action.
It was unsure whether he secretly managed to fulfill his vengeance on his superiors who had abandoned him & his "spotter" in enemy territory.
Nonetheless, he decided to retire from the United States army.
It seemed that his actions had actually made him a target by a criminally inclined, high level entity, conspiring within the United States government.
The conspirators were led by an ex-United States army colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover), & a United States Senator (Ned Beatty) who planned to hire the ex-sergeant and then make him the perfect scapegoat in what appeared to be an assassination attempt on the United States president.
Their evil henchmen included Elias Koteas (Jack Payne) & an ex-sniper played by Rade Serbedzija (Micheal Sandor).
Danny Glover had always played the hero or the good cop in his previous starring movies.
However, in the Shooter, he played the prominent bad character.
Nonetheless, his acting reputation had transformed what was supposed to be an evil character into a surprisingly mundane criminal.
He made it look like the character was never someone who could have killed another human being.
Though, he managed to successfully act as somebody who shows no remorse on giving orders to kill.
Anyway, it just seemed odd to have Danny Glover as the bad guy.
The movie showcases the ex-Marine gunnery sergeant's expertise with weapons, explosives, counter intelligence, reconnaissance & survival training.
An impressive scene was when the wounded Bob Lee disarmed a rookie F.
B.
I.
(Federal Bureau of Investigation) agent just after miraculously running away from the people who were trying to kill him.
A quick change of camera angle shots transformed the scene into a magnificent blur of fast paced & intelligent use of brute force in a handgun disarming technique.
The ex-sergeant was helped by Kate Mara (Sarah Fenn), Rhona Mitra (Alourdes Galindo), & the ever curious rookie F.
B.
I.
agent played by Micheal Pena (Nick Memphis).
Micheal knew how to look for the scene of the crime & also what to look for in a crime scene.
In an action filled turn of events, the bad guys appear to be winning side until ex-sergeant Bob Lee proved himself not guilty of the crime.
The reason was that his sniper rifle that was planted in the false crime scene could not be fired in the first place.
During the ending, Bob lee turns vigilante as no power in the United States government can bring the international criminals to justice.
The hunt ensued as the ex-marine sergeant tracked down the perpetrators to a wooden lodge outside the city & executed them one by one.
He successfully carried out his plan & planted the weapon in the hands of the dead evil-doer, Isaac.
In the end, the ex-Marine gunnery sergeant Bob Lee Swagger defeated the bad guys at their own game.
The Shooter should not be missed by fans of conspiracy theories & action movies.