rayxt
"Enjoyable. . .Rather generic . .pants. . . Nothing new here . . This was their last chance to get it right. . . misses and fails to hit its target. . .Waste of time. . .Decent striaght to DVD movie . ."This is a Bulgarian co-production with additional location work on the spectacular isle of Santorini, Greece. If the budget was anything over $3 million it's a miracle. For that the viewer gets excellent (even unbelievablly good value-for-money) cinematography from Martin Chichov which underpins the director working within those tight budget constraints for what is essentially an 'action' movie. A straight-to-dvd movie. No cinema release here. Nobody expects Ben Hur and they don't get it.Under-rated (and sadly under-employed) British RSC classically-trained Dominic Mafham as Major Guy Bidwell is a solid convicing cornerstone for the black ops field commander for the American talent to play around.On late-night TV I expected a real 'Eastern European' co-pro stinker (a la Steven Seagal) and was pleasantly surprised to find that it is not the case. For a great part because of the cinematography pleases the eye of the beholder while the director attempts to suspend disbeliefWisely the producers have re-employed both Mafham and the man behind the lens Chichov on the next Sniper franchise exercise the dvd 2016 Sniper Ghost Shooter
Wizard-8
I didn't think that the first "Sniper" movie (way back in 1993!) was anything special, and the box office results seemed to indicate others agreed with me. But it must have found its audience somewhere, because it's spawned several direct to video sequels, this one being the latest one. I wasn't expecting too much when I sat down to watch this entry (no surprise), but I was kind of surprised to find it was decent. Now, it's far from a perfect movie. I do believe comments from other IMDb users here that state various military details in this movie are not accurate, though that did not concern me that much. I will admit that a few sequences involving CGI effects are a little cheesy, and there are a few slow bits here and there. The biggest disappointment in my opinion, however, is with the use of Tom Berenger. Although he is top billed, we have to wait almost an hour before he first shows up, and he only makes a few (brief) appearances afterwards.Despite those problems, the movie still remains entertaining. Although the CGI effects are lacking, the movie looks extremely professional in every other aspect, from the cinematography to the locations; some serious money and time was spent on this movie. The starring features of the movie - the action sequences - are also well done, coming across as very exciting and well directed.While I wouldn't say that this is a movie to actively seek out, it does deliver the goods if you are in the mood for some non-think action. I've seen hundreds of action movies from all over the world in my life, so I'm confident in saying that this is a decent example of the genre.
A_Different_Drummer
.... and they didn't.Let's start with the positives. The cinematography is to die for. The direction is rock-solid (something many tired sequels can't claim) and the idea of re-imagining the "spotter" as a member of the fairer sex is, well, clever. And visually engaging.But the clever stops there.For the record -- and this is an old and cranky reviewer writing this -- I saw the first SNIPER in a theatre. One of the old ones. With a second floor and balconies. It was not bad. At the time Berenger was considered to be "the next big thing" and could do no wrong.In my view, if you had suggested to Berenger at that time (hypothetically) that the rest of his career would be mainly TV roles, and that the occasional Sniper "redux" would be his only ongoing star turn, I think he would have been shocked.Just like this reviewer is shocked that, in spite of the cinematography and direction, this film essentially falls apart after the first 20 minutes.Which is sad because Berenger, in his late sixties, might never get another chance to do this right.
rpbilleaud
I usually enjoy Tom Berrenger and Dennis Haysbert, but both actors were clearly mailing it in here. The plot line was confusing and unrealistic and the acting was dreadful. The snipers are alternately the best shots in the world and then moments later can't hit their targets. They chase the bad guy out in the open without knowing where he is, not bothering to move forward under cover and just begging to be picked off. Brandon Beckett reconnects with his largely absent father and there is no joy ... or anger. It's just sort of ho-hum, yeah, good to see you again. Some emotion ... any emotion ... would have been nice. Obviously the producer was looking to capitalize on whatever success the previous Sniper films generated, but no real effort was put into this one. Pat on the back to the producer for killing off whatever good will was left for the Sniper franchise.
AD
