Mark Wahlberg and director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Infinite) teamed up for the first time on the intense action thriller SHOOTER. Wahlberg stars as a respected former Marine sniper who is pressed into service to stop an assassination attempt on the President. When he’s double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he must prove his innocence while evading every law enforcement agency in the country and a shadowy organization that wants him dead.
For thoughts on Shooter, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
Shooter debuts on 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a new 2160p/Dolby Vision transfer that offers a substantial uptick in quality over the previous Blu-Ray from 15 years ago. Skin tones appear more natural with striking improvements in crisp detail apparent on faces such as sweat and cuts. The pops of color throughout in the production design and natural settings appear with greater intensity than ever before thanks to the Dolby Vision presentation. The increased range of the color spectrum helps bring more nuance to the visual palette of the film. Notable sequences like the patriotic celebration look incredible and quite vivid here. Even the shades within the camouflage look more distinct in this gorgeous picture. The transfer reveals an increase in the depth of field in the varied locations that we visit on this journey. In the wake of the various chaotic scenes, you can more clearly make out textures within the destruction.
The biggest improvements are in fine detail and well-defined textures. The black levels are incredibly deep and inky as they give way to great detail. The highlights in the film are more defined with whites more pure and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. There does not appear any noise reduction or black crush that we detected at any point. The Blu-Ray was great when it debuted at the beginning of the format, but this by far the essential version of this film that smokes the old release.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray release boasts a DTS-HD 5.1 lossless track that is a notable improvement over the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on the previous Blu-Ray. This disc is a powerhouse throughout, as this movie deserves with its sound design. As you move throughout this fast-paced world, the sounds of the environment flow out of your side and rear speakers. Each sound is precisely placed with perfect spatial awareness. The track engages all of the channels with panning effects and sounds of kinetic moments that really makes you feel like you are in the thick of the action. Every frantic sequence features some impeccable sound design that comes through flawlessly. The implementation of environmental effects such as crowd chatter and gunfire come through in a natural way. There is a substantial amount of activity in the low-end when the scenes call for it, as it often does. Dialogue comes through clearly without getting muddied by the score or any sound effects. The music utilized in the film comes through with a pleasing fidelity. Paramount knocked it out of the park with this track, so those with a good surround sound setup should have a blast with this one.
Special Features
One of the main appeals of this new release is to get the film in a sleek new glossy gray SteelBook that is truly gorgeous in person. The front artwork is a shot of Bob with his gun, and the rear features a text tagline for the film. The interior sports a purple background with some embers. Photos of the SteelBook can be found at the end of this review.
- Survival Of The Fittest – The Making Of Shooter: A 22-minute featurette is provided here which delves into the source material and origins of the project, the larger ideas behind the narrative, the motivations of the character, bringing a sense of realism to the film, the training that went into preparing for this material, creative choices that were made and more.
- Independence Hall: A seven-minute piece which explores the crucial setting of the film, the process of getting permission to film at the landmark, getting the technical details just right and more.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided here.
- Deleted Scenes: Seven deleted scenes totaling 12 minutes are provided here featuring Nick’s intro at the FBI, Sarah and Swagger discussing conspiracies, and multiple scenes between Swagger and Nick that are worth checking out.
Final Thoughts
Shooter is one of the better Mark Wahlberg action vehicles thanks to the gripping screenplay and the assured direction from Antoine Fuqua. The movie does not push itself to be more than it is, but it excels within the genre it occupies. Wahlberg possesses the perfect amount of everyman charm which keeps you rooting for him to make it out of this chaotic situation alive. The highest compliment I can pay this film is that it feels like the perfect comfort movie for dads on a weekend afternoon. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a new 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a magnificent A/V presentation and a couple of brief supplemental features. If you are a fan of the film, it is worth owning this one in the best presentation possible. Recommended
Shooter is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray SteelBook and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
