Shooter - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Shooter



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
I’m a HUGE fan of Antoine Fuqua. The man has directed some of my favorite modern action movies over the last 25 years, and The Replacement Killers stands high on my list. He’s had his fair share of mediocre movies over the years, but Tears of the Son, Training Day, The Equalizer are masterpieces, and stuff like Olympus has Fallen, The Magnificent Seven and Shooter are pure guilty pleasures. I’ve watched the movie at least a dozen times since it came out in 2007. I remember paying 35 dollars for a pre-release version of the HD-DVD from a reviewer like myself and feeling proud that I got it 2 weeks before anyone else. I’ve had the Paramount Blu-ray when I switched over to Blu-ray in 2008, and have watched it to death. It’s pure Chuck Norris meets Antoine Fuqua action extravaganza, and is Mark Wahlberg at his prime.

The Story is loosely (VERY loosely) based on US Marine Corp sniper Carlos Hathcock, but is pure Antoine Fuqua to the core. Bob Lee Swagger (Marky Mark) is a retired Marine sniper who gets pulled back into the game when a Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) asks Swagger to come to Washington and help them stop a sniper who is intent on killing the president and is rumored to be making a shot of over 1 mile. Swagger is naturally curious and agrees to help profile the shooter and see where he might be shooting from so that they can stop him. Little does he know that it’s actually a setup, and the African Prime Minister is shot instead, and the act blamed on Swagger.

Realizing that he’s the fall guy for a much bigger group of people, Swagger with the help of renegade FBI agent Nick Memphis (Michael Pena) begins a counter attack of his own, figuring out just what is going on, and who he has to kill in order to put this thing to bed forever and clear his name. Naturally that means his body count is going to go up, and there will be LOTS of slow motion gun fights in true Antoine Fuqua fashion. And we get to see an early 20s Kate Mara introduced to us as the love interest. What’s not to like?

Yeah, I get it. Shooter isn’t the best of Fuqua’s works, and it’s not exactly high art either. Still, it’s a blast of a film to watch as Fuqua has a masterful eye for action and witty dialog. The movie runs along at a nice clip with just the right amount of dead bodies left behind, but I fully admit that the last ¼ of the movie gets a little ridiculous. The dialog while Swagger is “proving” his innocence is very much cringey in nature, and the last sequence of the movie (no matter how satisfying) sort of takes things into 1980s Chuck Norris level of stupidity. Still doesn’t mean I don’t love the movie to death, and after 15 years I can still watch it with a smile on my face.




Rating:

Rated R for strong graphic violence and some language




4K Video: Video:

One of the first things I noticed about the new 4K UHD transfer for Shooter is that it is definitely darker here. It’s not done so at detriment to the film, but the Blu-ray was a LOT brighter, almost to the point of being blown out at times. Here the black levels are deep and intense, but still showcase a TON of new detail I’ve never seen in the film before. I didn’t see any information from Paramount, but since there is no announcement of a new 4K DI, I’m just going to assume that it’s taken from the 2K master that the 2007 Blu-ray was taken from. That old Blu-ray was a solid disc, but nothing THAT special, even back in the day (I give the Blu-ray a good 4/5 rating). However, this new disc blows it straight out of the water. The detail levels are simply superb, showing off pin striping on the suits that I have never seen before, as well as individual grains of dirt on Marky Mark’s face, or the blood and grime around his knuckles. The darker image may seem like it would crush or cause shadow issues, but it’s quite the opposite. The HDR application allows for blacks that are DEEP and dark, yet still show off plenty of detail levels. Not to mention the colors, as they get a substantial amount of pop to them. Check out the greens of the tree leaves while Swagger and Memphis are making their way to the cabin about 2/3rds of the way through the film. It’s just glorious to watch. I can definitely tell that the master was 2K as some of the background shots can still look a little soft (the Blu-ray was soft in those portions too), but up close facial detail and structural textures (the wood on the cabin where Swagger comes face to face with the shooter is incredible looking) are just head and shoulders over the Blu-ray. Great disc.



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Audio:

There’s no Dolby Atmos or DTS:X object oriented track on board, but the old 5.1 Dolby Digital lossy track is finally eliminated. The mix was OK, but a bit thin and lacking. This new DTS-HD MA track in 5.1 is a kicker for sure. The opening scene with the Barrett .50 cal sniper taking out the helicopter punches you in the chest for sure. The film can be quiet at times, but it’s a solidly dynamic track, with the sounds of Washington careening around the listening position as Swagger attempts his escape. The highlight of the track is easily the raid on the cabin as well as the snowy peaks meet up spot near the end. What I really love about he mix is that they allowed each of the guns to have a different sound. Usually in action movies they make all the guns sound very similar, with over exaggerated bass response that makes even a .45 caliber 1911 sound like an S&W 500. However, each gun has it’s own unique sound. A 5.56 M4 has that light snap that 5.56 has, the bolt action Remington 700 that Nick uses has that nice heavy thwap of a 30 caliber bullet, while the 50 cal’s have that deep “thud, thud thud” when tracking from the helo. Gunshots do have power, but they’re not made to sound overly explosive. Although the actual explosions that happen are enough to make the pant legs flap a good bit (again, going back to that raid on the cabin, best sonic scene in the movie). Great mix, and a much needed lossless improvement over the Blu-rays lossy track.











Extras:

• Survival of the Fittest: The Making of Shooter
• Independance Hall
• Theatrical Trailer
• Deleted Scenes
-- Nick Memphis Intro at FBI
-- Timmons in the Alley
-- Sarah and Swagger Discuss Conspiracy
-- Extended Shopping Scene
-- Swagger and Memphis at the River
-- Swagger and Memphis Driving After Farmhouse
-- Swagger and Memphis in Hotel Room

Final Score:
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Shooter is the epitome of a guilty pleasure, but it’s a guilty pleasure directed by a master of the genre. Antoine Fuqua movies are always very stylish and action filled, and Shooter is no different. It’s pure cinema junk food, but junk food that tastes GREAT. I love the entire thing from beginning to end, and have watched it at least a dozen times. It doesn’t try to be realistic, and frankly I like it just the way it is (although some of the dialog in the final ¼ of the movie gets a bit cliched and cringey). The 4K UHD is a drastic improvement in both video and audio, but sadly some of the extras found on the Blu-ray are dropped, and Paramount has continued their path of not including the old Blu-ray into the set as a combo pack. Thus fans of the commentary are going to want to keep their old Blu-ray around and make their own combo pack. One thing to note, the steelbook casing is the EXACT same steelbook case as the Blu-ray combo pack released last year, just with a 4K UHD disc instead of Blu-ray and DVD. Not a wild thing, but weird that they just re-used the same steelbook art and case for this release. Great disc, FUN watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Pena, Rhona Mitra, Danny Glover, Warren Beatty, Elias Koteas, Kate Mara
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Written by: Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell, Aleksander Hemon
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, German, Spanish, French, Japanese DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 126 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: March 15th, 2022

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[mechman]

Thanks Michael!

 

[Michael Boeker]

This is one of my favorite movies and the Bob Lee Swagger books are great reads. By the way, the 4K version with DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track has been available on Kaleidescape since October 16, 2020.

 

[Ralph Potts]

Greetings,



Regards,

 

[Epoxy1]

Couldn't agree more Michael. This is a blast of a movie and the 4K is excellent.