Sniper: Reloaded

For the most part, any film that relates itself to a franchise by having the words "Son of" end up doing horrible with fans and audiences. Son of the Mask (2005) is a perfect example of this type of fail. And then there are the few that actually respect their elders instead of jumping all over them. Sniper: Reloaded is exactly what it implies in the title; Berenger's out, time to bring in his "son" to fill in the shoes. And it's done almost perfectly to that of the first Sniper (1993).

This "fourquel", as some would call it, is about the story of Sgt. Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) who decides to fill in for his legendary father, Master Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Beckett, played by Tom Berenger in the past three films. Collins looks astonishingly similar to that of Berenger and it was stroke of luck that he acts just like him too. Thank you Christa Schamberger for casting Collins, you're great! And that's just one actor to be thankful for.

Then there's the character of Richard Miller (Billy Zane) who is now overgrown looking and has receding hair. So much for what he used to be! Now he's back to help Beckett's son become a sniper. And it's an honor to see Zane's character as the father figure in this film. This is the duo that made this franchise a hit and it's gratifying to see Richard Miller reciprocating what he learned to Tom Beckett's son. Not mention the fact that Zane makes his character so nonchalant yet charismatic. I laughed at a lot of the lines Miller had to say. It was fun to see him again.

The way John Fasano configured the script was cleverly written. There are some many juicy hints and references that will fans cringing with joy. Right at the beginning fans will even see a military record of Tom Beckett with an authenticated picture. Sweet. The audience will even learn why Brandon Beckett joined the marines. A specific character mentions even the line "One shot, two kills". Ahhh the memories! One thing that disappointed me was that even with all these clues, the truth to what happened to Thomas Beckett is left unmarked. Why? I guess the only thing we can assume is that since Berenger did not reprise the role, the character of Beckett Sr. is dead too. Oh well.

Like the past two sequels, the sniper franchise has moved to an action genre and has abandoned the thriller part of it. That still annoyed me but for what it's worth, this particular action was more entertaining than Sniper 2 (2002) or Sniper 3 (2004) put together. The carnage was turned up too which was a nice touch. It made the warfare more fun to watch. Credit to director Claudio Fäh, also director of far less entertaining Hollow Man 2 (2006) for the action sequences. His direction was much better than the Hollow Man sequel.

The scenery is great too. Sniper 2 (2002) was in the midst of a city and it didn't seem as real for a sniper to be taking out enemies there than in a Panamanian jungle. Sniper 3 (2004) had some of that but still failed to elevate it much higher. But Sniper: Reloaded is all filmed in the African Sahara. The audience will even get to see live animals; simply beautiful. Both Mark Sayfritz and Marcus Trumpp had an enjoyable musical soundtrack. Of course since this is a direct-to-video sequel it won't be released, but it does feel authentic and not just random notes put together.

Finally, as love interests go, I'd say it didn't have to be penned in but it did help make a good subplot. Annabel Wright plays Beckett's secret lover, Lt. Ellen Abramowitz, who helps him find the bad guys and take them out. I'm not sure why a sex scene was obligatory to have in the running time though. I guess it was that the story revolved around Collins, and because he's hunk, he's suppose to have sex with a fairly attractive military chick? I don't know. But overall I was very pleased with the outcome and it even leaves itself open for another sequel, which hopefully will happen with the same cast from this movie.

Aside the few nit-picks, Sniper: Reloaded is hard not to enjoy. The story, action, music, script and atmosphere by far surpass the last two sequels.

This movie is far better than the previous sniper instalments at least the ones I remember seeing, first of all I'd like to commend the screen writers for the choice of setting, the savannah bathed in the African sun provided a unique and enchanting backdrop for good action shots.

I found fascinating the way the producers made use of visual effects to create the blood splatter and the plot development was not too bad, the movie starts of in the future- with a court martial thus leading us back to the events that led Sgt Brandon Beckett to go AWOL in search of the sniper that wiped out his entire unit.

While I find that the story line keeps you interested in finding out how Beckett intends to find the sniper it doesn't give you a punchy ending, I feel the endgame was rushed through and the villain (masiello) disposed of in a manner that defied the reputation that the writers had so painstakingly built to create.

Beckett received the unsolicited help of Miller (part played by Billy Zane) to achieve his mission, Miller is a friend of his late father and being something of a sniper legend offers to help his friends son along on his mission.

In the end director Claudio Fah I feel will need six stars from me for the effort.

Recommendation: Watch the movie.

An American action-thriller. The fourth film in the Sniper film series. It follows two of the three recurring lead characters: U. S. Marine Sgt Brandon Beckett, and his father's one time sniper apprentice Richard Miller, a teacher at the Force Reconnaissance Scout Snipers in United States Marine Corps. The story introduces Brandon Beckett, whose team have been ambushed by a sniper during a UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Beckett and his team are ordered to rescue a European farmer whose land has been overrun by rebels. The action is reasonably engaging with an interesting variety of tactical techniques associated with the work of a sniper: detection, target range estimation methods, field craft, and target acquisition. Sadly, in between the action the romantic element was insipid, and the subplot about a conspiracy was anticlimactic. All in all, an engaging film but it lacks suspense.

Can you ever compare to a legend? After being ambushed on a mission Sgt. Beckett (Collins), must step into his fathers shoes. Can he become as good of a sniper as his dad was and fight his way home? I spent the last few days watching "Sniper 1-3" in order to catch up. Although it helps to know the back story of his father and why Miller (Zane) is helping, but it's not necessary. This movie is very much like the other three, action is very good and exciting to watch. When there is no action or shooting, which is about 80% of the movie it slows way down and is hard to stay focused on it. If you like the other ones you will probably like this one. I did not. If you like "The American" you will probably enjoy this also. I just couldn't stay interested. I give it a C.

Would I watch again? - I will not.

Greetings from Lithuania.

Now that's a nice one action film. I love the first "Sniper". It was my childhood film. Me with my friends watched "Sniper", "Rambo" hundreds of times. That was a GREAT (slow) action film. Years later, i watched "Sniper 2". I don't even want to remember that one because there is nothing to remember. Couple of days before i saw "Sniper Reloaded" (like "Matrix Reloaded" heh) and - what a surprise, i really liked this movie. Sure there isn't anything special - no SGI or Oscar worthy stuff, just a simple low budget action movie. And it works. Maybe because i was a fan of the first "Sniper" i really liked this one. The lines where they remember "a father" are a great ones (to the fans of the first one). Overall it's a really nice one film, just don't expect much and you will be really surprised.

My vote is 7, but because i'm a fan of the first one i'm actually giving this one a solid 8.