The Marksman - Zielgenau

I've seen some bad Wesley Snipes movies (and this is one of them) but I've rarely seen a bad Wesley Snipes performance. His acting style is much better than the junk here, but if he continues to make these loser films, he will indeed lose his "Teflon" status. THE MARKSMAN is a horrible example of BAD MOVIE-- shot in the economically depressed "eastern Europe" where the local governments offer "creative incentives" for film companies to come there and blow things up, this movie reeks of "been there, done that".

Trying to make a Jerry Bruckheimer action film on a low budget is just plain painful to watch. The costumes looked cheesy and the action scenes contrived. There's one scene where Painter (Snipes) is wearing a camouflage cap so big, it bends his ears out and makes him look like an elf. Later, the hat is so small it looks like a party favor perched three inches up his bald skull.

EVERYTHING about this story is contrived. ONLY THE BOX ART is good looking, the rest is slam bang crash boom from the eighties repackaged as entertainment. YOU'VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE-- just say "no!"

The first 10 minutes of this movie says enough it is a cobbled up poorly directed pile of reeking crap. THe story is horribly obvious from the outset to boot. Tired and trite standard themes that have been done before and with far more style.

I must say after this viewing I can say any time one sees Wesley Snipes listing in a movie it is a fairly safe bet that the movie is not worth watching. Pity Wesley seems to be associated with people who can't make a movie worth watching.

Save your time and don't bother. I'd say it isn't even worth a rental when time comes. Waste of bandwidth.

I choose The Marksman while renting at the video store because I wanted a DVD that would be entertaining to watch and not a big risk. I figured that if Snipes signed onto the movie it couldn't be that bad. I wasn't expecting a great story, but at least some good action with the occasional action movie cliché.

I think this movie must have been made as a practical joke to Wesley Snipes. They probably showed it at his birthday party. Every member of the cast overacted every scene. It was like every speaking character had their own monologue.

The special effects were comical. During a jet fight scene they show an explosion that is supposed to be one of the jets blowing up. A few seconds later when another jet supposedly explodes, it appears to be the same explosion optically reversed, right down to the last piece of debris flying through the air.

I would expect a movie to be this bad that didn't have a famous actor in the lead. But I never thought a movie with Wesley Snipes could be of this poor quality. He needs to have his head examined.

Now I like direct to video Action. I like the cheesy lines... thousands of bad guys... but this movie was horrible. My eyes teared I was so bored watching this. My dog cried out in pain.

The plot was weak and the acting was down right terrible. I'm giving it a 2 because I giggled at some of the scenes (I'm sure I wasn't supposed to though) and it had sort of cool fight scene.

All in all don't waist your money. I bought this in a double feature package on Amazon. The other direct to DVD movie... FUGITIVE HUNTER. Now Fugitive Hunter was made cheap you can tell but it grabbed my attention and kept it. Way better flick. Compared to The Marksman I would give FUGITIVE HUNTER a 10! The movie probably that good but hey compared to this Snipes disaster anything would do.

Save your hard earned money.

Sad to see films like this mess get the backing of the studios when little films of far greater significance and value lie in languor. This story (bad guys in a foreign country get close to atomic capabilities that would threaten the world until one turnaround soldier man saves the day and the globe) has been told so many times that the audience can sing along. The use of a lot of night shooting is obviously well considered as there isn't much to see anyway.

What happened to the Wesley Snipes who used to make really interesting films? Obviously the producers felt his star power could drive this dud as the remainder of the cast is unknown (though many seem to be really fine actors without the benefit of a script).

Thought about not wasting time reviewing this film, but then on the other hand, if enough people speak out about the bad movies that just keep coming down the pike, perhaps the studios and theaters will begin to pay attention. Grady Harp