And still the Sniper conveyor belt rolls on…
However, with its seventh instalment, something strange seemed to happen to this franchise that all snipers have to do if they want to improve their aim – they have to adjust their sights.
Up until now, the “newer” Sniper sequels (everything from 2011s Sniper: Reloaded onward) had delivered standard DTV action schlock that had seen perky, if empty action sequences and characters so thin you could fit them in a toaster. Also, to help prop up new protagonist Chad Michael Collins, the series had kept drafting in either Tom Berenger or Billy Zane from the original films in dome sort of confounding attempt to suggest that their presence is some proof of quality.
As we begin the rather confidently titled “Ultimate Kill”, this seventh installment of a franchise that seemingly can’t die has all the hallmarks of its last few predecessors with an extra twist (Collins, Berenger and Zane in the same film at the same time?) – but can it bring anything new to the ultimate point and shoot series?
Bogota, Colombia: someone in the cut throat world of the South American drug business has decided to make a gargantuan move in securing power for himself and has acted accordingly. While kingpin Jesùs Morales has set his sights high by ordering a swift, face-bursting end to all his enemies in order to gain more routes for his products to make it into the US, the man who is helping him do it has some extra special skills to pull it off. Known only as El Diablo (subtle), not only is this hitman a crack shot, but his his uncomfortably large rifle has the ability to shoot special bullets that can track its targets and even bend around corners, which obviously makes him a major threat.
Enter Brandon Beckett, the crack sniper who’s taken out a fair few threats in his time. His mission is to go to Colombia and provide overwatch for feisty DEA Agent Kate Estrada as she moves in to locate Morales and extradite him back to the States. But while he’s trying to stop El Diablo blowing out the back of her back of head through her face, he has some support from some old allies in the form of his father, Thomas Beckett, who is back with the Bureau after finding retirement an ill fit, and mutual friend Richard Miller to round out something of a Sniper film reunion.
However, considering that both Brandon and Thomas have about enough awkwardness in their relationship to make Tina Belcher from Bob’s Burgers look like Beyonce, can this actually help Brandon keep Estrada alive when El Diablo is bending bullets like he’s in Wanted and Morales is blowing up whole houses to set booby traps for the determined agent?
Since the franchise suddenly restarted back in 2011, there’s a very plain feeling that the Sniper franchise has been moving on rails. In switching the focus from Beckett the elder to Beckett the younger, the franchie has pretty much stuck to the exact same staples for three consecutive movies. There’s always a evil sniper out there who Beckett has to out-snipe; Beckett has to experience a token scene where he admits hes still uncomfortable with his role as a sniper and at some point during all the globe trotting, either Berenger or Zane shows up to remind that this fucking franchise actually started back in 1990. Well, Sniper: Ultimate Kill manages to stick to these rules depressingly well, and yet while I was watching it something rather miraculous occured – I was paying attention. Now, I’m not going to go as far to claim that a Sniper sequel actually made me feel feelings (also the gory sniper hits are pretty fucking sweet), but even though it delivers literally everything the last three movies offered up, it actually approaches with it with a bit of kit Beckett hasn’t actually been equipped with before – an actual decent script.
Now, I’m not saying that we’ve got an all time action/war classic on our hands here, but compared to the franchise as a whole, Ultimate Kill is easily a high point of the series and is actually by far the best entry of the newer films. The secret is, for all the bombast that the Sniper movies try to include, they rarely focus beyond anything other than the mission leaving everyone involved to feel like toy soldiers being moved through their paces by an excitable child; but here, the script cuts back on the multiple countries and repetitive shoot outs to give an entry probably the most character focused entry since the original.
Yes, Chad Michael Collins’ Brandon Beckett is still having issues with his role blowing the heads off bad guys from miles away, but while the other movies just had him furrow his brow and whine a bit, this film actually puts some weight behind it by having him shaken by the suicide of a fellow sniper who just can’t take the life anymore. Curiously, having his fears explained in such a more tangible way than just “being sad”, actually helps Chad Michael Collins deliver something approaching an actual performance beyond his usual paint-by-numbers acting and finally gives him something approaching some extra layers. Also, having the film stick to one region and not zip around the globe like a Bond with extra flying miles means that it’s way easier to focus on what the plot actually is and while the reduced action and recycled threat (yet another evil sniper and a drug baron who pulls guns on his own people for beating him at pool) may sound more boring than cramming in around three or four firefights that all feel exactly the same, returning director Claudio (Sniper: Reloaded) Fäh uses slick production values and an anamorphic 2:39:1 ratio to actually make it all feel more grounded.
However, you may initially think that boasting the return of both Berenger and Zane at the same time means that we’ll get some triple threat action as all three franchise stalwarts take up firing positions likes some Avengers: Endgame version for sharpshooters. But while this sadly doesn’t happen and the older pair are strictly in a sidelines capacity, much like the continuing plot thread about Beckett’s sniper anxiety, the film actually addresses the gulf between father and son and gives the actors some meat to chew on. Astoundingly, the result is a performance from Berenger that actually makes it feel like he wants to be there despite the fact that he’s seemingly wearing Zane’s porn mustache from Sniper: Reloaded. Tearing up while spouting military themed gobbledegook like “How could you be a civilian puke after all those years in the crotch, right?”, we get a brief look at a man so unable to give up the life that’s turned him into an emotional husk, he can’t even enjoy retirement. OK sure, both this and Brandon’s emotional issues are pretty much dropped when the tech-heavy bullets start flying and Zane hasn’t got much to do aside from deliver typically weird line readings, but take it from someone who’s being working his way through all of this franchise – it’s by far one of the best.
While you’re reeling from the fact that Fäh has almost succeeded in making Sniper 7 feel like a real movie with actual focus and character arcs and everything; the film luckily remembers to deliver all the explosions and overblown headshots you’re also craving. Whether the series can ever reach this target again with such confidence is uncertain, but having both Beckett’s share an actual hug and having a man have his head blown off with a sniper bullet with a miniature warhead in proves to good a surprisingly long way. Ultimate Kill = ultimate sequel?
🌟🌟🌟
We Have Issues 