Vigilante flick necessity number two is that you must have plenty of bullets flying and bombs exploding or else your audience will have to dig deep into your story, and you don’t want that. Shooter racks up a decent body count, finding ways to kill off bad guys (and a few good guys) in believable yet entertaining ways. Some of the coolest shots in the film are delivered either through the scope of a rifle or at the receiving end of the shot. There are also some pretty slick pyrotechnic moments when our hero is fighting back against “the man,” and he is forced to make bombs that would raise even MacGyver’s eyebrow.

And finally, in order to make this whole thing work you have to tie it together with a hero that can personify the American spirit, spit in the face of the institution and take down three guys with two bullets in his torso all at once. Thankfully Mark Wahlberg comes through on all accounts. Coming off of a great supporting role in The Departed is reason enough to cause speculation about his ability to carry an entire film. But while his Departed co-star Matt Damon is stuck as the leading man in the borefest that is The Good Shepherd, Wahlberg gets to grow some trashy facial hair and shoot the arms off bad guys from 1000 yards. Let’s face it: some guys can do action, and some can do drama. Some can even do both. Mark Wahlberg is quickly becoming the latter.

And yeah, the film is filled with clichés and it does get a bit preachy and political at times, but all that can be easily overlooked. Kate Mara is hot, Antoine Fuqua has a keen eye for violence, and Mark Wahlberg is becoming an undisputed acting powerhouse – what more do you really need?

Final Grade: B+