It'd be far too easy to dismiss Antoine Fuqua's Shooter as mindless multiplex mayhem. Disguised as a gory B-movie light on coherent plot and heavy on bad-ass action, there's actually something a bit more subversive at work in this pseudo-Death Wish for the Dubya administration. You have to wonder just how many popcorn-munchers caught on to the not-so-thinly-veiled caricatures of America's governmental elite. It's a tactic (not having read Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter's novel upon which Fuqua's film is based, adapted here by Jonathan Lemkin, it's hard to know just how much politically charged material already existed) that elevates and makes more timely a film that would otherwise be nothing more than a straight-to-video snooze.

Mark Wahlberg (who's having a hell of a run lately) stars as the awkwardly named Bob Lee Swagger, who, if his name didn't give it away, is a die-hard American patriot, proud to serve his country and lay down his life, if need be. Trained as a covert scout sniper, Swagger's got an eye for laying waste to targets that are far beyond the range of most normal gunmen. Disgraced during a black-ops mission in Africa that gets his spotter killed, Swagger retreats to the mountains of Wyoming, only to be lured back into service by the shady Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover, whose braces provide the most unintentional hilarity in Fuqua's film; the lisps are priceless). Asked to map out a hypothetical assassination attempt on the president's life, it's not long before Swagger finds himself framed for a murder he didn't commit and on the run from the long arm of the corrupt, morally twisted law.

For all of its jabs at the Bush administration (and there are plenty), Shooter unfolds like a surprisingly old-school action flick, replete with bad-ass walks to camera filmed in slow motion, a wise old munitions expert (Levon Helm) who guides the young buck in his quest and devious machinations overseen by high-ranking government officials (Ned Beatty is wasted in his role). Plenty of stuff goes boom, big-time; Mark Wahlberg gets to mutter plenty of giggle-inducing lines under his breath -- "I don't think you understand - these people killed my dog" is one of the more amusing asides -- and Fuqua gets to show off just what he does best: filming frenetic action sequences that look incredibly sexy and brutally violent, often simultaneously.

Appearing to be mindless on the surface but raging against the political machine just beneath it, Shooter ultimately comes off as an odd blend of slightly lefty agitprop while maintaining some deeply red state beliefs about, among other things, the right to bear arms. It's a little cheesy, a little murky but entertaining in a way that only big-budget studio shoot-'em-ups can be.

The Video:

Shooter arrives on DVD sporting a near-flawless 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer -- you can see every scrap of debris and flaming body part in sparkling detail. Colors are vivid, lines are sharp and blacks are crisp. There are a few, ever-so-brief instances of edge enhancement, but they are very minor and don't detract from the overall presentation.

With a title like Shooter, you'd hope that the aural end of things is up to snuff. Happily, the included Dolby Digital 5.1 track delivers plenty of punch when needed (which is often) and renders the cheeseball dialogue with absolute clarity. Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are also provided in French and Spanish, as are optional English subtitles.

Director Fuqua sits for an extremely low-key, informative commentary track that walks the viewer through everything from the visual effects and the film's realism to the politics of the film and his reactions to the material. The 21 minute, 48 second featurette "Survival of the Fittest: The Making of Shooter," presented in anamorphic widescreen, details the creation of the film, while the seven minute, 18 second featurette "Independence Hall," presented in anamorphic widescreen, features the film's military advisor talking about the film's pivotal assassination sequence and seven deleted scenes, presented in anamorphic widescreen, are playable separately or all together for an aggregate of 11 minutes, 49 seconds. Trailers for Zodiac and Black Snake Moan complete the disc.

Appearing to be mindless on the surface but raging against the political machine just beneath it, Shooter ultimately comes off as an odd blend of slightly lefty agitprop while maintaining some deeply red state beliefs about, among other things, the right to bear arms. It's a little cheesy, a little murky but entertaining in a way that only big-budget studio shoot-'em-ups can be. Recommended.