Sniper
Sniper
R | 29 January 1993 (USA)
Sniper Trailers

Tough guy Thomas Beckett is an US soldier working in the Panamanian jungle. His job is to seek out rebels and remove them using his sniper skills. Beckett is notorious for losing his partners on such missions. This time he's accompanied by crack marksman Richard Miller.

Reviews
SunnyHello Nice effects though.
Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
johnny-burgundy Sniper (1993) This is an action thriller starring Tom Berenger and Billy Zane as snipers. Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett (Berenger), Force Reconnaissance Marine, an experienced sniper, is paired up with an inexperienced civilian, Richard Miller (Zane), to eliminate a rebel general financed by a Colombian drug lord. It received mixed, but mostly poor reviews. Nonetheless, it was popular enough with audiences to initiate the Sniper film series. It was followed by six direct-to-video sequels: Sniper 2, Sniper 3, Sniper: Reloaded, Sniper: Legacy, Sniper: Ghost Shooter and Sniper: Ultimate Kill. This is one of the last decent 80's style action movies, before the move to 'straight to video'.
Woodyanders Hardboiled veteran Marine sniper Tom Beckett (ably played with steely resolve by Tom Berenger) and eager, but inexperienced rookie marksman Richard Miller (a fine performance by Billy Zane) are assigned to pull off a difficult covert mission in which they must venture into the Central American jungle in order to assassinate a powerful rebel leader and his Columbian drug lord backer. Director Luis Llosa brings a commendable mean'n'lean sense of efficiency to the tight and gripping story: The quick pace rarely flags for a minute, the tone is appropriately tough and gritty, the tension builds quite nicely, the dense jungle locations are neatly taken advantage of, and the exciting action set pieces are staged with skill and flair. Moreover, the radical contrast between Beckett's tightlipped no-nonsense machismo and Miller's wide-eyed aiming to please naivete gives this picture extra substance and resonance while the theme on how being a sniper takes a heavy toll on one's soul and conscience provides a surprising amount of poignancy. Best of all, this film has a praiseworthy stripped-down simplicity to it that ensures that there's a refreshing dearth of both cornball humor and needless sappy sentiment. Both Bill Butler's sharp cinematography and Gary Chang's spare moody score are up to speed. An on the money movie.
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews Beckett(Berenger, reserved and experienced) is top-of-the-line for snipers. He works in the Panamanian jungle. People like him work in pairs, or alone. Trust between the two can mean the difference between life or death. And he's paired up with rich pretty-boy Miller(Zane, more of an office man), who's never killed anyone, for the next mission. Will they ever get out alive?This favors tension(with a constant low current of it through the 92 minutes, or 95 with end credits) over action, and those looking for a popcorn flick should look elsewhere(no offense intended). Aiming for a narrower audience, pun intended, this seeks to be a gritty, realistic and highly detailed depiction of the reality for war-time marksmen. For those of us who want such, it's satisfying, although this approach is occasionally broken by brief bouts with Hollywoodism. Acting and casting is great.It's a thriller with a focus on the psychological, and, indeed, one of the biggest conflicts is between the two leads, who are among the only characters in this. You'd almost be forgiven for calling this a minimalist piece - two people, in the one seemingly endless setting, and a straightforward plot. Both are human beings, with flaws, and as this progresses, they get to know each other, not everything goes as it should, and things will get pushed right to the edge.There is some strong language and bloody violence in this. I recommend this to anyone who likes the concept. 7/10
kosmasp I watched this movie back in 1993/1994 when it came out, on VHS back then. And I had a very good memory of it! So I watched an uncut version of it lately. And my memory got clearer. I know why I liked it back then (it does criticize a few things in war, human beings and other things) ...... but I also know now, that it's not one of the best anti-war movies ever made! This might be one of the better Tom Berenger roles (with the B-movie "Substitute") and he really is good in this one. Billy Zane delivers a good performance too. But it still leaves you with a feeling that there could've been more ... if maybe a better director were at hand, this could've been considered a classic! One thing is for sure though: One scene is classic and it has to with a bullet and the camera ... if you watch it, you'll know what I mean!