A Fan-Favorite Mark Wahlberg Movie Is Crushing It On Netflix
While Mark Wahlberg is certainly no stranger to action films, one of his fan-favorite efforts is blowing up on Netflix streaming.
This article is more than 2 years old
Mark Wahlberg is one of the biggest current movie stars. He is enjoying plenty of press and popularity due to his appearance as Victor Sullivan in the live-action adaptation of the video game Uncharted. Wahlberg starred in that film alongside current Marvel fan-favorite Tom Holland. While Wahlberg still remains one of the biggest stars in currently released movies, one of his past offerings is currently blowing up on Netflix. Shooter, which came out in 2007, is currently top ten on the streaming platform.
Shooter follows the life of former military sniper, Boby Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg). After a final mission for the CIA goes south, which results in the death of spotter Donnie Fenn, Swagger retreats into the mountains of Wyoming. He lives in isolation before the agency that once abandoned him behind enemy lines, now needs his help. The men in suits appeal to Swagger’s sense of duty and patriotism, claiming that someone will attempt to assassinate the President of the United States. While Swagger heads to a lookout point to take out the assassin that is meant to assassinate the president, the guest of the president is killed. The shooting was meant to be a setup, pinning the assassination of Ethiopian Archbishop Desmond Mutumbo, on Swagger. He narrowly escapes being killed himself before going on a path of revenge to take out the agency that double-crossed him and attempted to ruin his life.
Shooter may not be the highest critical success out of all the Mark Wahlberg films, but it was certainly loved by audiences. The current rating for this film sits at a poor 47% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The critic consensus claims that the myriad of plot holes and the implausible story made this movie one with little elements to love at the end of the day. While that critic rating is certainly on the more awful side, the audience rating was a great deal more with 80%. As previously stated, audiences loved this film. Sometimes critics cannot suspend disbelief enough to allow themselves to let ridiculous moments happen in films. On top of the film’s poor critic rating, it was seen as a box office flop. The $61 million budget was placed against the worldwide box office numbers of $95.7 million. While the numbers certainly don’t match up either, it’s still an entertaining film. Even while Shooter was released in the same weekend as TMNT and 300, the film placed third in opening weekend numbers with $14.5 million. Not a bad opening considering the competition it was up against.
Everyone loves a good revenge thriller, and Shooter holds the same level of espionage and action as the Bourne series, albeit with Mark Wahlberg mostly operating high-powered rifles. Even with the poor rating from Rotten Tomatoes, audiences gave the film an overall B+ via CinemaScore. Shooter is directed by Antonie Fuqua and based on a 1993 novel by the name of Point of Impact, by Stephen Hunter. For those who might not be that familiar with Fuqua’s work, he famously directed Training Day and The Equalizer. All these films have some sort of revenge quality about them, which is usually a perfect storyline to build an action film off. Wahlberg certainty plays the part of the over-cautious military man to an expert level. While the agency that betrays him thinks him to be dead, he goes on a rampage to take care of everyone involved.
Mark Wahlberg was certainly a busy man in the 2006 and 2007 years. He appeared in The Departed in 2006, before moving on to Shooter and We Own the Night in 2007. All three films have some sort of cop or military presence about them. While Wahlberg is certainly an actor that can cover many roles and characters, it seems that he was typecast during the 2006 and 2007 years. Whatever fans feel about this detail, Shooter is a highly entertaining film that brings forth plenty of stakes of revenge. While it may not be the highest critical success of his career, it is certainly worth a watch. Shooter is currently streaming on Netflix and is sitting in the top ten for a reason. Check the film out and decide for yourself if it deserves a 47% rating.
