A seemingly mild-mannered cowboy comes across a woman being savagely beaten, and inadvertently becomes the target of a vengeful family patriarch when he kills the woman's tormentor, the son of outlaw Jerry Krants (William Smith). It's a decent enough set-up, with the rescued woman (Valerie Wildman) turning out to be a prostitute, while her savior Michael Atherton (Michael Dudikoff) is awarded a ten-thousand-dollar bounty for the death of Vince Krants (William Langlois). The opposing forces meet early in the picture in a too soon unlikely showdown that's thwarted when the town sheriff (Cal Bartlett) comes out shooting, and from there all hell breaks loose, with Atherton being subdued and worked over by Krantz's thugs. What didn't work for me was how quickly Atherton came back from having his hand smashed by the butt of a rifle numerous times. With every bone in his hand presumably broken, there's no way he could have made the quick comeback he did to seek his revenge. Country singer Randy Travis is introduced as a potential ally for Atherton early in the story, but turns villain when a back story relates how he survived an onslaught by Union soldier Atherton while escaping Confederate capture during the war. The story ends the way we all knew it would, but I had to smirk a bit when Atherton hoisted hooker Wendy aboard his horse for the oft used ride into the sunset finale. It just didn't fit for a character who came across as a loner.
Review of The Shooter
