'Shooter' Off to a Slow Start

“Shooter,” John Hlavin’s new conspiracy thriller on USA Network, aired its pilot episode on Nov 15. Based on the best-selling novel "Point of Impact" by Stephen Hunter, and the 2007 Paramount film starring Mark Wahlberg, “Shooter” attempts to tell the story of a retired war veteran that we’ve heard in many different forms and places. Despite a decent cast, in “Shooter’s” pilot episode, we see almost no attempt at adding a new flair to used narratives—the largely overused dialogues, skin-deep character roles and predictable plot progression stick out quite prominently. Even though things begin to pick up with the second and third episodes, it seems unlikely that “Shooter” will hit its target by the end of this season.

The show follows the journey of a highly decorated veteran sniper, Bob Lee Swagger (Ryan Phillipe,) who is coaxed back into action when his old Chechnyan rival makes a comeback with a plot to kill the President. When Swagger's former commanding officer Isaac Johnson (Omar Epps) solicits his expertise in a clandestine operation, Swagger discovers that the entire story about his old rival is a ruse used to frame him and now he must do everything in his power to protect his family and clear his name.

If you aren’t familiar with the backstory of the movie “Shooter,” you will find that the first episode presents an overwhelming number of clichés about the legendary veteran who long ago decided never to go back to the field but does so nonetheless because, well, he is the best. “American Sniper,” “Jason Bourne,” and Captain America in “The Avengers”—there is far too much that has been said and done for Shooter’s first episode to provide anything out of the ordinary. Swagger is a legend in his field; his close friend died in battle; he blames himself for his friend’s death; he decided never to go back to the field after the incident; he just wants to live the ‘regular civilian’ life with his cute family—the clichés are all over the place.

The characters and their dialogues largely come off as mechanical and forced into a particular narrative. Swagger’s lines, gestures, and lifestyle are created to suggest that his military background is completely enmeshed with his personality, but the resulting character rarely comes off as natural or even believable. No matter how much of a hardcore military legend you are, you don’t tell your six-year-old stories about chasing “Al Almini” in Kandahar. The same applies to Swagger’s wife, Julie (Shanten VanSanten)—her relationship with Swagger doesn’t have the natural flair that is intended, and this has largely to do with the script rather than the acting. Her interactions with Swagger involve an emphasis on a warm, close relationship that seems forced, and lines like “Bob Lee Swagger doesn’t miss” don’t help to add a consistent depth to her character either (who calls her husband by his full name?).

Despite an unimpressive start, the show begins to pick up with the second and third episodes. As the goose chase begins, the show naturally gains pace. The fighting and shooting scenes are fairly realistic and might tend towards being excessive for some audiences. Phillipe’s acting for the most part fits well into the role he’s playing. Even VanSanten’s character seems less one-dimensional than before as she begins to take charge of things in Swagger’s absence, instead of saying things like, “Your country needs you.” Omar Epps’ portrayal of the deceitful friend is effective as well—the deep-seated jealousy and the occasional subtle pangs of guilt add depth to his character.

One of the obvious challenges to the show is its inability to add much to all the different narratives that we’re well acquainted with. “Shooter” involves issues of war veterans, gun use, bureaucracy, foreign politics and governmental corruption, but it doesn’t seem to say much about any of them. It retells different stories that we’ve heard in, for example, the Bourne series, but doesn’t independently offer much through its content. More about this will become evident in the episodes to come.

“Shooter” has made a slow but (somewhat) sure start and most of its success will depend on how high it aims (pun intended) in terms of creatively recreating old narratives and conveying a strong message about the issues it deals with.

—Staff writer Taimur Aziz can be reached at taimur.aziz@thecrimson.com.