This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
Plot Overview
Some suit at a U.S. Army camp in Lemonier, Ethiopia is running
a black ops
“peacekeeping” mission “eight klicks inside a country we're not supposed
to be in.” There was no hostility to pacify, but “the
villagers didn't think that an oil pipeline was a good enough
reason to move their village,” so now it's being burnt to the
ground as twenty-four mercenaries beat a retreat in five vehicles.
Guarding their exit are two highly trained snipers, USMC Gunnery Sergeant Bob Lee Swagger
(Mark Wahlberg) and his friend & spotter Donnie Fenn (Lane Garrison.)
Donnie shows Bob Lee a picture of his wife Sarah (Kate Mara) who's about to
attend a nursing school in Astoria, Oregon.
When hostiles attack they fight them
off but are left to fend for themselves and Donnie is killed.
Swagger retires from the corps and settles in an isolated cabin in
Wyoming where, “I'm just a peckerwood who lives in the
hills with too many guns.” He's reading The 9/11 Commission
Report and perusing on-line news to “see what kind of
lies they're trying to sell us today.” (“They also said
that artificial sweeteners were safe, WMDs were in Iraq and Anna Nicole married for
love.”) An enigmatic Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover)
tracks him down and plays on his sense of patriotic duty to become
an ad hoc advisor on a suspected assassination plot. He is really being set
up as a patsy along the lines of a Brad Taylor thriller where:
He was nothing but a contractor, hired precisely to prevent Mossad fingerprints on the operation in question. He was a piece of tissue the Mossad used to blow its nose and, once soiled, easy to toss aside. But his partner in Israel was something altogether different. She cared about him. (33)
Once the assassination goes down, he's treated like snot. Wounded and on the run, he turns to nurse Sarah and a friendly fibbie for help.
Ideology
Point man in the conspiracy is Col. Johnson “the right man for the job.” He's an international troubleshooter brought on board by corrupt senator Charles Meachum (Ned Beatty) to help an oil company clean its dirty laundry. Johnson might actually be a colonel, but that's not established. His real name is … well, he's used so many names nobody really knows. He's replaceable as part of a conglomerate, so we won't put much stock in his rank. His only set characteristics are his Negroid features that he can't change, though we'd hardly call him an African-American. It's uncertain he's an American national, nor is he American at heart the way he disparages democracy. And he doesn't sympathize with his African kin either, the way he regards 400 villagers slaughtered: men, women & children. He is Col. K. N. Nobody. He's a cipher.
This “colonel,” though, is loquacious to a fault. He tells his acolytes after Swagger refused his offer that, “He said yes. Just doesn't know it yet.” In verbal sparring his refrain is, “I win, you lose.” And ultimately he maintains, “The truth is what I say it is.”
Swagger is the patriotic fool twice
over. A highly trained instrument who yields to authority despite
evidence of their malfeasance. He's also foolish in love, slow
on the uptake with the pretty widow who'd gotten over her grief and
likes military men.
These two principals pitted against each other will provide a real test of, (Prov. 29:20) “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”
Production Values
“” (2007) was directed by Antoine Fuqua. Its screenplay was written by Jonathan Lemkin based on Stephen Hunter's novel, Point of Impact. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Michael Peña, and Kate Mara. Wahlberg outdoes himself as a soldier long on endurance; he's especially good at internalizing his angst. Peña gives a fresh take on the sidekick motif; he's a quick learner. Mara plays a hillbilly widow who doesn't take kindly to being kidnapped; she knows how to shoot. The support cast is all one could ask for. Levon Helm spices up the story portraying a seasoned firearms expert with a wry sense of humor.
MPAA rated it R
for strong graphic violence and some language. The TV version is a little tamer than the theatrical
release. Part of it was filmed in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.
Assassination footage was shot in historic Philadelphia—the
city of brotherly love, no less. Locations portrayed involved trips
by plane, train and auto. It's 124 minutes long.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
This thriller moves right along, developing tensions from multiple directions. There's plenty of gunplay as well as tactical discussion. The characters come across as their own persons rather than imitations from other movies. The main character likes his old dog and protects his new woman. It's an engaging movie with plenty of action. I liked it big time.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Edge of your seat action-packed. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quotation was from the Authorized King James Version (KJV.) Pub. 1611. Rev. 1769. Software.
Taylor, Brad. Operator Down. Copyright © 2018 by Brad Taylor. New York: Dutton. Print.
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