Sniper

In film, on television and in books, folks have always been fascinated with snipers, myself included. Growing up, I think I watched this movie in today's review a couple hundreds time courtesy of countless airings on TNT and AMC. Well, it's been years, but I watched it straight through for the first time in years. It's the original and still the best in a franchise that has spawned four sequels, 1993's Sniper.

With a long career under his belt, Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger) is the Marine Corps' most respected sniper, piling up 70-plus confirmed kills. His last mission though was a costly one, his young spotter killed because of an early extraction following a successful kill. He doesn't have long to dwell on it though as a new mission and orders come through for him. Working with an inexperienced SWAT sharpshooter with NSC connections, Richard Miller (Billy Zane), Beckett is tasked with going deep into the Panamanian jungle with two objectives. An election is coming up and intelligence indicates a drug lord will back a general who will lead a violent coup, all of it against American interests. Beckett and Miller must take out both men, both of whom are expected to meet at a well-guarded villa in the jungle. They butt heads almost immediately, Miller in command but Beckett with the know-how. Can they make it through this suicide mission?

Oh, my, how fast the time flies. I was only 8 years old when 'Sniper' was first released in theaters, but this action flick was a cable TV staple in the late 1990s. Young, impressionable me soaked it up and watched it over and over again. It doesn't quite hold up as well 20-plus years later, but it's still an above average action flick. From director Luis Llosa, it was filmed on-location in Australia and feels familiar. If you've seen war movies, sniper flicks, you've most likely seen variations on this story. It tries to accomplish a lot, delving into the background and mindset of snipers, but is most comfortable in the moments on a jungle creep inching closer to a shot and a kill. Small scale with less than 10 speaking parts, it's the better for the focus on Beckett and Miller.

Two actors who never quite became as big a star as they could have, Berenger and Zane are excellent together. This isn't a buddy dynamic as the duo heads into the jungle. This is a rivalry, a conflict, eventually a life and death struggle as the mission develops. Berenger is at his tough, growling best as veteran sniper Thomas Beckett. He's near the end of his career but still has few rivals. He tries to get Miller through the message but the inexperienced spotter and fellow shooter isn't having it. As they travel to the jungle villa, we get to know the duo through their conversations, tough guy dialogue about their experiences, how they got here, and where they hope to end up. Again, familiar but enjoyable. Zane doesn't get lost in Berenger's shadow, holding his own. There are some surprising twists in the mission as Beckett and Miller genuinely come to blows and more as the pressure becomes too much.

This is a movie about those two roles. The targets are targets. That's it. No backgrounds, just guys who need to be killed. Some other key parts include J.T. Walsh as Beckett's commander back at base, Aden Young as the spotter in the opening mission, and Ken Radley as El Cirujano, a former CIA operative now working as an enforcer for the drug cartels. Naturally, he's got some history with our Mr. Beckett. 

For the small scale, generally low budget flick, 'Sniper' tries its best when it comes to the action and the good, old-fashioned shooting scenes. The violence is quick and startling with only some use of slow motion (thankfully), and that comes in death throws as nameless baddies take a bullet. With a 98-minute flick, there isn't a ton of action, heavy duty action at least. The first hour there's some quick shots, some fire fights but nothing crazy. That's saved for the finale as Beckett and Miller descend on the villa to take their shots amidst guards and patrols. It's a really cool, straightforward action scene that's packed to the guts with tension. The entire last half hour is the movie at its strongest, a series of twists and surprises and chases and shootouts, including one very genuine, truly surprising twist.

It's a good movie, obviously not a great one. It has its limits, but as far as non-blockbuster action movies go, it's pretty good. Who would have figured back in 1993 that it would inspire four sequels, starting in 2002 and continuing more recently with 2011's Sniper: Reloaded and 2014's Sniper Legacy? Overall, it is a fun, progressively mindless series, and it's always cool to see where it all started. Now how about another sequel with Beckett, Miller and Chad Michael Collins as Beckett's similarly skilled sniper son? Get on it, Hollywood!

Sniper (1993): ***/****

Sniper: Legacy

Released way back in 1993, Sniper was a moderate success and little more. It received generally mixed to negative reviews and earned only $18 million in theaters. So why did this movie have such a second life? It's 21 years later, and the original Sniper has spawned four sequels, all of them of the straight to DVD variety. They're not especially good but in the guilty pleasure category, they qualify as highly entertaining flicks. Today's review is the newest sequel, 2014's Sniper: Legacy.

Having survived the bloody conflict in Congo (see Sniper: Reloaded), Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) has become a very skilled sniper in the Marine Corps, building up a reputation for himself as a promising young shooter. He's stationed at a black ops base near the Turkish border when his commanding officer, Major Bidwell (Dominic Mafham), tells him that Beckett's father has been murdered by a rogue military sniper. He can't allow him to go on a mission to take out his father's killer but just the same...he can turn his head and let Brandon do what he chooses. The rogue sniper is taking military personnel out one-by-one, all related to an off the books mission 10 years before in Afghanistan. What happened exactly? Can Brandon find this sniper before he gets caught in his gun sights? The key to it all may be Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger) and what he actually knows.

As I mentioned in my 'Reloaded' review, I grew up watching the original Sniper on countless airings on AMC and TNT, weekdays and weekends alike. It's not a great movie by any means, but it is an endlessly watchable flick. The sequels aren't on the same level -- even 'Reloaded' was more guilty pleasure than good -- but it's fun watching them just the same. They're all straight to DVD and made on a small-scale, especially in the budget department. The reason for checking this one out is pretty obvious but more on that in a bit. From director Don Michael Paul, 'Legacy' isn't particularly original, mostly cliched, generally pretty dumb...and a lot of fun. It's a turn your brain off 98 minutes where you can sit back and watch some fun, cliched and familiar character archetypes throw some one-liners around and a whole lot of snipers picking off their enemies via headshots. Can't ask for too much more, huh?

Oh, right, the big reason to check this out. Yeah, it's that Tom Berenger fella. The original star of Sniper (along with co-star Billy Zane, who returned in 'Reloaded'), Berenger returned for the first and second sequels but deciding not to do 'Reloaded.' Well, Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett is back! Now 65 years old, Berenger isn't the spry sniper from the original. He's rocking some cool white, even Silver Fox-esque hair and he's got a little paunch around the middle, but who cares?!? Beckett is back. Unfortunately Beckett doesn't show up until the 55-minute mark but he makes the most of his screentime. One-liners and smart-ass comments around every corner, he even gets to say the character's most famous line, "One shot. One kill." Berenger never became a huge star, but he's always been one of my favorites, and this is probably his most well-known role. Definitely cool to have him back.

Thankfully 'Legacy' seems content to avoid the pratfalls of the abandoned son and the father who abandoned him backstory. It's almost brushed aside, two tough guys -- Thomas and Brandon -- wanting to talk about it, but this ain't the movie for it! Let's shoot some bad guys! What few scenes they have together, Berenger and Collins are solid together. I especially liked their scene where they discuss some vices and how they ended up where they are. Again, nothing flashy, but solid.

With Berenger not showing up until almost the hour-mark, we've got plenty of chances to meet some other characters. And in the end, this is more of an ensemble which ends up being pretty cool. I really liked Mafham's Major Bidwell, the no-nonsense team leader with the nickname 'Bullet Face' because one of his sniper trademarks was shooting his victims in the face. Yikes! In the big name department, Dennis Haysbert plays the Colonel (no other name provided), possibly a good guy, possibly a bad guy. You'll have to watch to find out! And come on, it's a Major League reunion, Jake Taylor (Berenger) and Pedro Cerrano (Haysbert). That's cool! There's also Mercedes Mason as Sanaa, adding the necessary sexy female sniper to the recipe. 

It's all pretty mindless, dumb and entertaining fun. Things are better when Berenger is around, especially in the final 30 minutes as both Becketts, Bidwell and Sanaa team up to take out our rogue sniper (Doug Allen) and a Syrian terrorist (George Zlatarev) he's working with. There's some cool shootouts sprinkled throughout the briskly paced flick, a whole lot of snipers gunning for their targets. If you like the Sniper movies, you'll enjoy this one. I did. I'm giving it a 3-star rating knowing it's not that good. I'm getting to be a cheap date in my old age. If a movie entertains me, I'm on board and I was entertained throughout here with 'Legacy.' Now how about another sequel pairing Tom Berenger, Billy Zane, and Chad Michael Collins? Heh?!? Get to it, Hollywood.

Sniper: Legacy (2014): ***/****

Sniper: Reloaded

Released in 1993 to modest business in theaters, Sniper has gained a bit of cult status over the last 18 years.  How can this movie be that old?!? It made about $18 million in theaters, wasn't received well by critics, and stands currently with a 5.8 rating at IMDB.  Starring Tom Berenger and Billy Zane, it was the story of two snipers -- one experienced and one newbie -- on a near-suicidal mission deep in South America to take out a Panamanian rebel leader. It was a staple on TNT and AMC over several years, and I saw it countless times.  I understand why some people dislike it, but it's a well-told story with two always interesting main characters.

The cult status came in the form of three straight to DVD sequels, including most recently 2011's Sniper: Reloaded, a reboot almost of the small-scale franchise. I've only seen the first sequel, 2002's Sniper 2, and while I enjoyed it, I can admit it's not a very good movie.  Haven't got around to seeing 2004's Sniper 3, but I'll get to it sooner or later.  Seeing that a third sequel was being released on DVD (without Berenger), I was skeptical, but Zane's presence certainly softened the blow.  The most recent Sniper entry is pretty cookie-cutter, nothing fancy, nothing too showy.  Not surprisingly though, the best thing going is the reappearance of Zane as Richard Miller, the protege and sometimes adversary of Berenger's talented sniper, Sgt. Beckett.

Working with UN forces in Congo training the Congolese army, U.S. Marine Sgt. Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) is the lone survivor from his unit on a rescue mission. The son of famous sniper Thomas Beckett, Brandon joined the Marines almost out of spite for his father.  Now, seeking vengeance for the death of his men and questioning why he survived, Brandon realizes he's stumbled into something bigger than him.  He wants nothing more than to kill the sniper who slaughtered his men and wounded him in the process.  With pressure from above to back off, Beckett continues to investigate, even being joined by CIA sniper Richard Miller (Zane) who's looking out for the son of his teacher, friend and sometime enemy. The two men may have bit off more than they can chew though, finding themselves in a sticky situation with American weapons reaching Congolese rebel groups.

Straight to DVD has never been a strong calling card for me going into a movie.  My first thought is usually 'If it was good enough, it would have been released in theaters.' Thankfully, 'Reloaded' avoids a lot of the pratfalls other DVD entries usually get tripped up around.  Yes, the story is predictable, the dialogue not always the most realistic, and the cliches fly left and right.  Overall, 'Reloaded' doesn't have the feel of a straight to DVD movie. Director Claudio Fah (yes, that powerhouse of directing) films his story in South Africa so visually there's a good jumping off point. It is hard to make Africa look bad. Second, the music is good, and most importantly, the action is handled well and choreographed nicely.  Lots of blood squibs and some surprising amounts of graphic violence pepper the story as needed. A classic this is not, but for a straight to the store movie, it ain't bad.

Playing Beckett's son, Chad Michael Collins has some big shoes to fill, stepping in where Tom Berenger left off.  While he looks freakishly familiar (he looks like a thinner Sam Worthington to me), I haven't seen him in anything else than this sequel.  He is a bit wooden in his delivery and doesn't miss many opportunities to strip down and flex (I'm assuming for the ladies in the audience), but he does a decent enough job in the lead.  Brandon does seem to pick up sniping rather quickly though, a little too quickly for my liking.  Also in the relatively unknown cast is Annabel Wright as Lt. Ellen Abramovitz, a United Nations officer working with Beckett, Richard Sammel as Colonel Jager, the local U.N. commander, Rob Fruithof as Van Brunt, the plantation owner supposed to be removed from the area, and Patrick Lyster as Martin Chandler, a British hunter/trader in Congo working to save children from the rebel forces.  In a small part, Lyster makes the most of it, giving us a believable, interesting supporting character.

I really don't know what happened to Billy Zane. In the 1990s, he seemed to be a rising star destined for bigger and better roles, especially after the success of Titanic. But since then, he's acted in B-movies and short-lived TV series.  I've always been a fan so seeing him return here as one of his coolest characters is the best thing going for Sniper: Reloaded.  This isn't the Richard Miller we met in Sniper, this is a changed man, one who has learned from his mistakes and is much more confident in his ability.  Zane looks to be having a ball in the role, getting all the great one-liners and delivering them with flair.  My favorite comes as Beckett asks a question about what they'll do following an ambush set-up. Over his shoulder, Zane answers 'Are you kidding? We're not going to live through this.'  Cheesy, corny, you bet, and I love it.

For a 91-minute movie, the story drifts a bit for my liking. The opening 20-30 minutes is good including the ambush and immediate aftermath. Then for about 30 minutes things just sort of drift along. Beckett meets Ellen, argues with her, takes her on a date, and hooks up with her. Figuring he should do something about his murdered men, he goes AWOL to hunt down the sniper he believes killed them. The last 25 minutes are easily the best as Beckett and Miller team up to take down the rival sniper and expose a conspiracy.  Pardon the pun, but the movie is hit or miss.  For a straight to DVD feature though, it's not bad at all.  I have a soft spot for the Sniper movies so take that into account. Probably not for everyone, but Sniper fans should enjoy it. And FYI, no Tom Berenger cameo unfortunately.

Sniper: Reloaded <---trailer (2011): ***/****