Deep in the jungles of South America...lies a professional army veteran. A pro with firearms, this sniper aims using deadly efficiency and he eliminates his targets in a silent, slick manner. Familiar with the territory, proficient in both armed and unarmed forms of combat, this soldier, fluent in both English and his native Spanish is a man who shoots first, and asks questions later. His covert missions are usually top secret...and he works alone too. This time though, he has company.
For it is imperative that this new assignment be accomplished as quickly and stealthily as possible... Or else...all hell will break loose in a whirlwind of fury...
Tom Berenger is an experienced, suicidal marine who has acclimatized himself to handling all forms of jeopardy. Newcomer Billy Zane is an amateurish tyro...who cannot make his first kill. In the vast jungle-lands of Panama, the two snipers are assigned to assassinate a Colombian druglord who has the potential of gaining power in the government. The two men arrive only to find themselves caught in a maelstrom of vehemence. The two encounter conflicts with their enemies...and eventually each other... The pressure is on!
SNIPER is a mediocre motion picture. This film tries to be more of a psychological drama than an action thriller. True, there are lots of macho philosophizing; slow motion bullets flying at close range; bold, tough guy effrontery, and an almost all male cast with no female leads. What makes SNIPER more unique though is that this movie has better character angles than expected. Billy Zane, for one, actually shows the right stuff in this movie. Zane does a superb job portraying a rookie sniper with a conscious...and a short fuse. He demonstrates the vulnerability, the problems, and the integrity of a soldier coping with the focus of his mission...and the nature of his deeds. Berenger does a fine job also, delineating a cocky, over-the-top Sergeant with an itchy finger constantly on the trigger. The two leads have created a couple of emotionally ambivalent characters (although fabricated in a banal manner) who must deal with their purpose...and each other's weaknesses.
Excellent performances by Tom Berenger and a young, show-stealing Billy Zane lift SNIPER from turning into a complete fiasco. Consequently though, in spite of some well executed action scenes and an inkling of tension permeating throughout the movie, SNIPER is surprisingly tepid in the adventure genre. The technically well-staged action scenes for example are somewhat unpolished and they lack finesse. The photography is also swift; just the rest of the movie, including character development doesn't really come close to swiftness.
This ambitious character study just misses the mark. The nuances of character are there, but the film as a whole is no different from most other action pictures. Unfortunately, the pace in SNIPER is extremely vapid, with more screen time spent on characters talking and running around rather than generating any real action.
In spite of the faults evidently gathered in SNIPER, this flick is a tolerable action movie. The action isn't really exhilarating, and the thrills in SNIPER are left to be desired for. Still, Billy Zane and Tom Berenger salvage this film from transforming into a complete mess. They work well together and though the plot is itself contrived, and these two characters are atrociously full of clichés, the two main leads do add credibility to their parts. Director Luis Llosa (ANACONDA, THE SPECIALIST) has designed a dubious, but OK, just not great film. If you are not demanding a high caliber thriller, then you'll find this motion picture to be serviceable.
RATING: ** out of ****.
