Parents' Guide to

Shooter

By Heather Boerner, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Gory vigilante political thriller for adults only.

Movie R 2007 124 minutes
Shooter Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 6 parent reviews

Sam M.
Sam M. Parent of baby-year-old
March 17, 2016
age 15+

Pulpy mildy fun thriller

Blood is briefly shown staining a window when a heli pilot is shot. 3 heads are sgot at the end. 2 are considerably goopy. One man has his arm shot off. Fairly bloody but not over the top. A man is shot with a shotgun in the chest, blood spalters on the door behind him. A soldier is shot in the head with an smg, we see blood stain the wall behind him. A man is shot twice in the chest and finished off in the head (some blood). A little blood at the very end during a vendetta assassination/break in. A couple other bloodless shootings, protagonist tends to a bloody wound in him. 10 F words.
darthsitkur
darthsitkur Adult
December 17, 2012
age 15+

freakin awesome crime action thriller lol

shooter gets an instant 10, lots of bloody action, lots of gore, and lots of suspense, shooter will have you on the edge of your seat
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Mark Wahlberg stars as Bob Lee Swagger, a government-trained sniper with a keen eye for accuracy and a long memory. Destroyed by the fact that the government left him behind in Ethiopia and by his best friend's death in a gun fight, Swagger has retired into the far reaches of the mountains. But then Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) comes calling, asking Swagger to defend his country from an imminent presidential assassination. Soon, Swagger is consulting on how a marksman would shoot the president -- only to be shot twice himself and then accused of the attempted assassination. Along the way, FBI agent Nick Memphis (Michael Pena) starts to unravel the weak case against Swagger, and eventually the pair find themselves facing down the U.S. military. But can they stop the bad guys and get justice for the people unfairly killed in Africa?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6 ):
Kids say (21 ):

With a name like SHOOTER, you wouldn't expect this political thriller to be sedate and dignified. But you also might not anticipate the extent and graphicness of the movie's violence -- or its unrelentingly depressing message. Over-the-top violence aside, Shooter is determined to sell viewers on the belief that the U.S. government is rotten to the core. By the time Senator Charles F. Meachum (Ned Beatty) says "There's always a confused soul who thinks one man can make a difference, and you have to kill him to convince him otherwise," viewers aren't surprised -- they're nauseated.

That's not to say there aren't fun things about Shooter. It's like a combination of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, MacGyver, Syriana, and Rambo. People who love shoot-em-ups, explosions, and car crashes will be in heaven (no pun intended). And Pena is a standout as the sharp-minded recent academy graduate. He provides the heart in this otherwise bloody-but-heartless film.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why these sorts of violent movies are appealing. After a movie like this, how do you feel? Do you feel more or less safe in the world? Is the violence necessary to convey the movie's message? Why or why not? Families can also discuss how to react when you're unhappy about how the government is acting. If you believe, as Bob does, that the government is corrupt, how do you deal with that? What are the options? What do you think of Bob's choice?

Movie Details

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