Sniper: Reloaded (2011)

Well Deserved Praise

One of the best films i have seen

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I had no idea what to expect, so it was not possible to be 'disappointed'. In many cases the acting was simply god-awful. Chad Mitchell was as wooden as an oak tree, and Annabel Wright was simply dreadful. But, Billy Zane was fun - much better in this movie than in the original 'Sniper'. The action was engaging at times - at least during the shooting segments - and I loved the sniper scenes. I presume that was a Barrett .50 caliber in use at the end, always an impressive weapon. I watched the movie with a glass of good bourbon, in front of a pleasant fire, with the wife and one daughter dozing nearby. Not a bad movie under those circumstances.

Almost every guy I've known has seen the original "Sniper" movie and enjoyed it, despite it's cheesiness. The original was a TV movie with corny acting, yet it became a well known classic that set forth the role of the modern military sniper. It focused on the technicalities of the sniping profession. I never wrote an IMDb review before, but I decided to share my brief thoughts because its low IMDb star-rating might deter viewers who would miss out."Sniper: Reloaded" may not have memorable sniping/sharpshooting kill shot scenes like "Full Metal Jacket", "Enemy at the Gates", Saving Pvt Ryan", etc. However, it gives the viewer some romanticized insight to the sniping profession. That is what made the first movie so interesting. We will always remember the scenes about peeing in parasite infested rivers and smudging feces on the face to evade search dogs. "Sniper: Reloaded" teaches us similar macho lessons. Its an educational experience, even if it is an improbable survival lesson. The movie begins with Beckett's son, a US Marine Sgt, that is deployed to Africa to train the Congolese Army as part of some UN thing. Without spoiling the plot, Beckett's fire team is sent to rescue a VIP plantation owner when a mysterious rebel sniper pins down the group. The sniper pwns the whole squad, picking them off one by one. Beckett Jr is shot and left for dead, but is later rescued by a big game European poacher. The news reaches Richard Miller (Billy Zane from the old movie) who is now a veteran CIA spook and shooting instructor at Ft Benning sniper school. Miller is now portrayed differently. He isn't the same effeminate bureaucrat that wore Ray Bans and a silk scarf during a jungle mission. This time he looks like an old veteran killer. He's buffer and balder than he looked 20 yrs ago, but still has some eccentric flair because he now rocks an anchor mustache. This time he's got the cool fallacious phrases like "One Shot, One Kill!"Apparently, Miller is a master that teaches a new generation of elite snipers how to excrete their urinary and bowel movements while aiming a rifle. I'm not making that up. Its these insightful situations that make "Sniper" films a must watch "man" movie. Miller then gets interrupted by an urgent telegram in the middle of the lesson that summons him to Africa.Miller arrives in Africa to manipulate Beckett's vengeful son. Miller tells Beckett the true identity of the enemy sniper and how to take him out. Its a reuse of the classic "Sniper" scene, in which Beckett Sr tells rookie Miller the identity of the skilled jungle sniper. Beckett Jr then embarks in an unofficial vendetta against double agents and govt assassins. I rated this movie an 8/10 because it was a decent and enjoyable foreign film(I think it was foreign). We see some interesting stuff like creating sniper dummies, and evading night vision scopes which I found more interesting than the fictional characters. Its not a great movie, but it is definitely worth watching.

This movie is below average for the story line and acting, and probably average for the general public. But for anyone who spent even a short time in the armed forces, it is far from being close to militarily accurate, and specifically to the U.S. Marine Corps. It appears that the production staff did not even bother to have this film reviewed by anyone in the Marine Corps before releasing it - review of the credits did not even show a technical adviser. As an example: at the end, the Officer In Charge of the Special Operations unit identifies himself as a Major. He is dressed in a US Naval uniform. Major is a rank in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps - there is no such rank as Major in the U.S. Navy. Overall this movie is poorly constructed, poorly acted and poorly produced. I would be ashamed to associate my name anywhere with the production of this bad movie.

I was about to write a detailed review on this but Matt-441 said it all... i totally agree with him.... with no super-duper stars, this movie really hits the very best of Genre in recent times... Me, i like movies where i can go inside the screen and be in the movie. I didn't move an inch watching this one...Script was well written, acting was way above average.. sound effects are key to the sniper movies, sound rocked in this movie!!!... what else?? scenery... it is based in Africa so what not to expect? beautiful views of jungle, Elephants, Rhinos, Giraffes etc... it is worth watching in short...