Do you remember sweet flicks like "Rambo," "Total Recall," "Under Siege," and many more that are fantastically entertaining and intense? You really don't have to think during these films, and just get to enjoy the ridiculous action. Well, welcome to "Shooter," a modern-day reinvention of those types of films.

Based on Stephen Hunter's novel "Point of Impact," an ex-military sniper is sought out to help stop an assassination attempt against the President. Despite his now skeptical look on life, Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) decides to help by scoping out the possible sniper locations and telling them how the supposed shooter would pull it off. When things go wrong, Swagger is set up and framed for the attempt...his only hope is to prove his innocence before he is tracked down. In order to do that, he must work his way up the chain, and kill everyone involved in the double-cross and get his revenge. He is helped by his late-partner's wife Sarah (Kara Mara) and a rookie FBI agent Nick Memphis (Michel Pena). Still harboring wounds from his past and fueled by anger at allowing himself to get into such a situation, Swagger must not only survive, but also find out why he was framed in the first place.

"Shooter" is a fast-paced, shoot-em-up action piece that doesn't fail to entertain. It does get mildly slow in the middle, but is still absolutely a great time. The violence is brutal, engaging, and filled with real explosions and not tons of C.G. However, there are times when the C.G. is completely unrealistic, but the rest of the time the action is so intense that you will glued to your chair...unwilling to look away.

Thankfully "Shooter" doesn't really want to focus on its plot as much as it does the action. The only idea to the film is there is an assassination attempt and that someone is framed...that is it. The acting is very nice...Wahlberg, Pena, and Mara do a great job. Also lending his acting chops is Danny Glover as Colonel Isaac Johnson. With a great cast "Shooter" truly entertains and is a blast to watch.

The DVD

Video:

Wow, that is all I can say. I was absolutely blown away by "Shooter." The video quality here is outstanding. The detail is fantastic, the colors are absolutely ridiculously clear, crisp and pop wonderfully. The blacks are great, even in the dark areas the detail seems to remain sharp and doesn't have much loss. There are two areas that I could "complain" if I really wanted to. In a couple scenes the contrast is a little high, and there are a few scenes of a little bit of grain. Unfortunately these do happen more then once and I have to drop the video quality down ½ a star for those disparate moments. Other then that, the video is one of the best transfers out there and will not disappoint.

Sound:

Here we get a 5.1 Dolby Digital track that actually doesn't deliver as much as I would have liked. Sure, the track is great, it has really good surrounds, the lows are good, and each scene erupts through each speaker marvelously. Now, I said that it didn't deliver and this is only because the track is actually very low. I had to turn up the volume much higher then I normally have to. I just couldn't get over continuing to turn up the volume in order to actually listen to the wonderful surrounds. So, overall the quality is great, it just is very quiet and you have to turn up your sound...a lot.

Extras:

Survival of the Fittest: Making of Shooter: This is an awesome feature that is highly technical. There are appearances by many cast...crew...military personnel, and even an appearance by Stephen Hunter, author of "Point of Impact." They all talk about the details of creating this film, with incredible insights on technology, guns, shooting...and everything you would want to know about sniping and the army. Definitely worth a look!

Independence Hall: This is not a fun feature...it outlines Independence Hall in Philadelphia and the history of it...that's it. Might be a nice feature for big history buffs.

Deleted Scenes: Nothing really here to see. Commentary with Director Antoine Fuqua: Fuqua is extremely passionate about his films. He loves everything about this movie and comes across as extremely easy to listen to. This track is a little technical but well worth the watch.

Final Thoughts:

"Shooter" is a modern version of some of the best 80's action films, and is an awesome watch. It flows extremely well and the action will not disappoint. Mark Wahlberg is awesome, and keeps us wanting more. The video is incredible, and the audio is good...I can easily Highly Recommend this one.