Sniper: G.R.I.T. - Global Response & Intelligence Team

This was a pleasant surprise, all things considered.

Because the last Sniper movie - Rogue Mission - was so bad that even me, a huge, unapologetic fan of every other entry in the long-running franchise (this is the tenth installment, which is hard to believe), was thinking that, if this was the best they could manage, it should be the last. End it, and leave us with good memories of fun B-grade (in a good way) action films about guys named Beckett!

Thankfully, it wasn't the last one, because Sniper: G. R. I. T. is a welcome return to form. And aren't I happy about it?

If you enjoyed any of the previous Chad Michael Collins films, aside from Rogue Mission, of course, then you'll probably agree.

I realised very early on that everything is better here: the acting, the action, the script, which went in a different direction to what I expected after the first few minutes.

The cast look energised - especially Dennis Haysbert, who is probably seen more in this movie than any other Sniper film he has appeared in - as if looking to provide a mea culpa for their collectively shocking last effort. And, they do.

Is it believable? No. Is it violent escapism action fun? Yes. If this is the standard going forward, I hope there are plenty more Sniper movies to come.

The set up in the first few minutes tells you it is going to be a silly, campy movie. If you keep watching it past that, you've asked for what you are getting. Since I was immediately prepared, I got into the mindset of being a twelve year old boy in the 1980s and just went along for the ride. It can be a lot of fun to watch if you're in the right mood.

A bit disappointed that Dennis Haysbert has been reduced to this. He's capable of a lot more, and I'm sorry if the powers that be in Hollywood don't see him as bankable. He's the reason we chose the movie. Better casting luck next time, Dennis.

The Sniper series has had some serious ups and downs in terms of quality. I didn't particularly enjoy the last chapter and when the trailer dropped for 'Sniper G. R. I. T.' I wasn't very enthusiastic about what I saw. The good news is this is a decent sequel and addition to the franchise.

Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) & Zero (Ryan Robbins) are still working for Gabriel "The Colonel" Stone (Dennis Haysbert) in a newly established CIA offshoot called 'Global Response & Intelligence Team' or G. R. I. T. for short. Six months ago, Lady Death (Luna Fujimoto) was sent on a mission to Malta to assassinate a bad guy called Ivan Bubalo but failed. Now it turns out she's still alive. So the two men are sent in to rescue her, kill Bubalo & his high ranking associates and dismantle once and for all this powerful terrorist cell called the "State of Aragon".

I'd say more about the story, but that would be verging on spoiler territory. What I can say is it doesn't stop there. You get Yuki "Lady Death" Mifune's backstory expanded upon. I'm very happy to report that Brandon takes up the scope multiple times in sniping segments that deliver on the namesake. We're even past the whole "one shot, one kill" notion now. Happy to see Intelligence Pete (Josh Brener) make a return as well. He was one of the few good parts of that last sequel.

There is some real nice scenery of Malta shown. Good camera work - drone shots - that really make the movie have a big budget feel. There isn't many low parts here. Of course, Lady Death was recast. I obviously don't know why, but Luna is not a bad actress. Pulls off many fight scenes and the requisite gunplay needed. Also provides some Japanese dialog. There's some unfortunate CGI violence, gunshots but that has become par for the course in action films these days. However the tone throughout is solid.

The story within 'Sniper G. R. I. T.' won't blow you away, but the action delivers. The cast do their jobs and there's some unique sniper kills though you have to suspend your disbelief when a target survives a direct headshot. Director Oliver Thompson (who did the previous entry) juggles multiple hats here. Not only written & directed, but responsible for some of the music which he collaborated on with actor Ryan Robbins if you can believe it. I thought 'Rogue Mission' was the lowest point of the series, but he redeemed himself here.

Another year, another "Sniper" movie, or so it seems. This 2023 movie titled "Sniper: G. R. I. T. - Global Response & Intelligence Team" is actually the tenth movie in the franchise. Believe it or not.

The storyline in this 2023 movie was a bit weak in comparison to some of the other movies, and held up against the 1993 original "Sniper" movie, then this was a whole different league, and not for the better.

Writer and director Oliver Thompson put together a bland storyline. The narrative in the movie was moving forward at a somewhat slow pace. And that made sitting through "Sniper: G. R. I. T. - Global Response & Intelligence Team" somewhat of a mundane ordeal. And for a movie based on snipers, there was a surprisingly little part of the movie's storyline actually devoted to or focused on actual sniping action. Nay, "Sniper: G. R. I. T. - Global Response & Intelligence Team" was more of an action movie than a sniper movie.

There were even some futile attempts at introducing some comedy elements into the movie, which played out with little or no success, to be truthful.

Sure, if you haven't seen other "Sniper" movies, then I suppose this 2023 movie could be considered good.

The acting performances in "Sniper: G. R. I. T. - Global Response & Intelligence Team" were fair enough, and it definitely was a nice enough thing that Chad Michael Collins, Ryan Robbins and Dennis Haysbert returned to reprise their roles from previous movies.

Watchable for the action movie that it was, "Sniper: G. R. I. T. - Global Response & Intelligence Team" somewhat deviated and strayed too far from the original concept of the franchise for my liking.

My rating of writer and director Oliver Thompson's 2023 "Sniper: G. R. I. T. - Global Response & Intelligence Team" movie lands on a five out of ten stars.

What happened to this franchise? It's hard to believe the Sniper franchise has spanned over 31 years with 10 movies but the last two are terrible. I like the cast but the execution, the dialogue and the unfunny jokes ruined this one, just like the previous one. It's hardly about sniping anymore and this one seems to be heavily inspired by videogames like Hitman and Sniper Ghost Warrior and the guards even act like NPC in those games. Even the introduction of the targets are exactly like I have seen in those mentioned games. I mean the action is fine but a lot of scenes are just dumb and ridiculous. If they decide to make another one, please return to your roots.