Revealing trailer takes swagger out of ‘Shooter’

In theaters

SHOOTER, directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by Jonathan Lemkin, based on the novel “Point of Impact,” by Stephen Hunter, 125 minutes, rated R.

Nearly everything you need to know about the new Antoine Fuqua conspiracy thriller, “Shooter,” is revealed in its trailer – a mystifying marketing decision, to say the least. Nobody wants a Cliffs Notes version of a movie they might like to see, but that’s nevertheless what folks get here.

Worse, even if you haven’t seen the trailer, you’re not off the hook. Since the movie resists breaking free from the successful formula it courts (think “Rambo,”) it rides it straight through to the end, which has the dual effect of giving its intended audience exactly what it wants while also removing almost any trace of surprise from the movie itself.

Fresh from his scene-stealing, Academy Award-nominated performance in “The Departed,” Mark Wahlberg goes for the paycheck this time by playing Bob Lee Swagger, a former Marine who dumped military service after a close friend of his was killed in the harrowing (and ruinous) Ethiopian mission that begins the film. (Think Iraq.)

Three years later, Swagger is living deep in the Wyoming mountains and looking about three weeks removed from a shower (but only a minute removed from the gym) when he’s tracked down by Col. Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover), who wants Swagger to help foil a plot to kill the president of the United States.

Since Swagger is one of the world’s best snipers, he’s asked to think like the person planning to bring down the president. From this, Johnson and his team presumably will deduce what they need to know to stop the assassination from taking place. Swagger agrees to help, but he quickly finds himself on the run when Johnson frames him for attempting to take the president’s life in Philadelphia.

Exactly why he was framed is the only plot element the movie’s trailer doesn’t reveal, and while it’s not going to be explored here, the revelation is so implausible, it’s akin to sitting on a day-old balloon – whatever air is left inside the movie gradually seeps out.

But not without a fight. To be fair to “Shooter,” it has its moments. The film’s action, awash in blood, is impressive, with Fuqua (“Training Day,” “King Arthur”) again proving he’s better suited as a stylist than as a director who can pull together a three-dimensional character. In Swagger, we get two dimensions: bicep and tricep. He registers onscreen not because he has depth, but because he seems a bottomless resource for survival, particularly his own.

Is there anything this man can’t do? Watching the movie, some will wonder, particularly after Swagger cauterizes his own wounds, builds his own bombs and systematically takes down those who did him wrong. Helping him are a young FBI agent (Michael Pena) and the wife (Kate Mara) of Swagger’s friend who was killed in Ethiopia, but you sense that if pressed, Swagger could manage without them.

After all, if there’s any word that best fits the American action hero archetype, it’s swagger, which this Swagger is all about.

Grade: C+

On DVD and HD DVD

CHILDREN OF MEN, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, written by Cuaron, Timothy Sexton, David Arcata, Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby, 109 minutes, rated R.

From P.D. James’ novel, Alfonso Cuaron’s harrowing, hellish sink into dystopia makes for one unforgettable movie, indeed.

As the film opens, it’s the year 2027, we’re in London and the situation is chaos, though hardly only in Britain. The world has collapsed into ruin and the human race is facing its end. Women no longer are able to conceive children – for the past 18 years, they’ve been infertile.

So when one woman, Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey), reveals that she is pregnant, an explosive situation ignites, with several special-interest groups wanting control of her.

Clive Owen is Theo, a cynical, disillusioned former radical who is kidnapped early in the movie by a group called The Fishes. The lead member is Theo’s ex-wife Julian (Julianne Moore), who needs transit papers for Kee so she can get past security checkpoints in order to reach the coast. As far as Julian sees it, Theo’s wealthy cousin, Nigel (Danny Huston), has the connections to make this virtually impossible request happen. Will Theo help? Reluctantly, he will, but for a price.

Early scenes favor a caustic, biting sense of humor before the movie gives itself over to the darkness of its story, which is formidable since a good deal of it has overtones of the Nazi Holocaust. Close attention also has been paid to Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography, which leans hard on verite; Cuaron and Alex Rodriguez’ editing, which allows the extended, never-jangling chase scenes to unfold in what feels like real time; and the realistic production design by Jim Clay and Geoffrey Kirkland, which was among last year’s best.

With the birth of Kee’s child imminent, “Children of Men” becomes a chase film, with the unrelenting war action, the tight bond growing between Theo and Kee, and the terrific supporting cast (Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor) going a long way in heightening the tension.

Grade: A

Visit www.weekinrewind.com, the archive of Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s reviews, which appear Mondays and Fridays in Lifestyle, and weekends in Television as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.