Sniper (1993)

In 1993's Sniper, we travel to Central America to fight the good fight in the "war on drugs," er, I think.  No, actually we're playing CIA games to try and meddle in the affairs of nations.  Yeah, that's better.

Anyway, we find veteran expert sniper Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger) sent off to eliminate the army general set to take over Panama, oh, and while you're there, Tom, why not take out any other targets of opportunity, like the evil druglord.

Oh, and, Beckett, during this top-secret and dangerous mission, we're going to pair you up with an inexperienced desk jockey.  What?  Richard Miller (Billy Zane) is that guy.

From the beginning we can see that Miller is going to be a problem, as he hesitates to pull the trigger on an enemy attacking his helicopter, and the guy instead gets taken out by a stray bullet from the side gunner.  The pilot thinks Miller has done this, and suddenly he's a big superhero marksman.  But we all know better.

Later in the film, Miller chokes again, and sets up things for later on down the road.  He gives a 'warning shot' to one of his targets, and causes both Beckett and the locals to just plain not trust him.

Then there's the irrelevant side plot of the former student of Beckett, who tails them through the jungle, until Beckett offs him with the cliched bullet through the scope shot.  Oh, yeah, did we mention that his mystery sniper took out Beckett's partner at the beginning of the film?  No?  Well, it doesn't matter anyway.  What was the point of that little exercise, anyway?

Well, there are lots of things in this movie that even a guy like me, clueless about the details of "how to be an expert sniper," looks at and goes, "What the F*** are you doing?"  Such as choosing a firing position inside a barn, without a covered approach or exit, splitting up your team (I thought you were supposed to have a spotter?) and lots of other little things where you scratch your head.

And the ending, where Miller kind of loses it and goes rogue is just a little too weird for words.  Yeah sure in the end it all works out, but I'm still trying to figure out the point of it all.

Sniper is just another early-nineties formula action movie at its core.  The plot really isn't all that well conceived, and the mechanics seem even less so.  Berenger is his usual self, lots of growly "get out of my face" kind of lines, and Zane is also his usual self.  He plays the confused whiner pretty well I think.  Really the rest is minor supporting role types, and of no consequence.  Kind of like the entire picture.

Technorati Tags: War Movie Review, Sniper, 1993, Tom Berenger, Billy Zane, Panama

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Description

Tom Berenger and Billy Zane load their weapons for hair-trigger suspense and through-the-heart action in this non-stop guerrilla adventure exploding with raw firepower. One shot. One kill. No exceptions. By that hard and fast rule, legendary Marine sniper Tom Beckett (Berenger) serves his lonely duty. With a dossier boasting 74 confirmed kills, he may be ready for his final assignment. But is he ready for his toughest? As his spotter, the Pentagon has chosen GS-9 Richard Miller (Zane) a silver-medal marksman aiming for a Washington promotion. Together the bush-savvy gunner and the inexperienced bureaucrat must track down and eliminate a powerful rebel leader and his Colombian drug-lord financier. It's a suicide mission into the jungles of Central America, where a man carries his life in his hands and lives it one bullet at a time.

Tom Berenger and Billy Zane head the cast in this silly action film about a tough Marine and an Olympics marksman who team up in the Panamanian jungle to take out a rebel leader and the drug kingpin financing him. Berenger's done this switched-off soul bit before, but Zane doesn't seem quite ready for his part. In any case, the acting doesn't matter as much to director Luis Llosa as fancy camerawork to give viewers the sense of a bullet hurling along its trajectory. --Tom Keogh

DVD Information

Binding: DVD
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Brand: Sony
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Original Release Date:
Actors:

• Tom Berenger
• Billy Zane
• J.T. Walsh
• Aden Young
• Ken Radley

Reviews

Related posts:

1. Stalingrad (1993)
2. Heaven & Earth (1993)
3. Gettysburg (1993/2011, Director’s Cut, Blu Ray)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 8:19 am and is filed under 1990s, Other War Movies, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.