There are quite a few bad reviews for this pilot episode of Shooter, and I don't quite realize why. I am a big man of a well made series and also quite picky and critical. Very few series can maintain my interest for a long time, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, Hannibal are just a few I have stuck to right to the end. However, as movies are so badly made these days, Star Trek Beyond anyone? I have to admit I enjoyed the pilot. I think Ryan Philippe was fine, he didn't appear too young to be a seasoned vet. I thought the family angle was endearing and added to the torment of what is about to happen to him. I watched the 2007 movie Shooter with Mark Wahlberg and I also think it was a very good movie that deserved a higher rating. Many people have talked about the series of books that movie and this series are based upon. If the series follows the book (I presume), and the movie then we kind of know what to expect from the following episodes, but even then I don't care. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain the suspense and action for 10 or so episodes. Sure, perhaps nine out of ten is too high a rating, but clearly there were haters out there slating this pilot and giving it two or three stars which is just unfair. I am also pleased that clearly right from the start the producers are saying this is just one season and not going to be drawn out and become ridiculous like Prison Break, and personally I have felt the same with Gotham, The Flash and the 100 (although season two was excellent, season three made me leave). So sure we know what to expect from the coming episodes, a lot of running, a lot of conspiracy theories, a lot of Swagger digging for the truth, and I am fine with that, if they keep up the production values and dialogue, and the directing was fine.
