Sniper

Sniper expresses a cool competence that is a pleasure to watch. It isn't a particularly original film, but what it does, it does well. We've seen so many bad movies about guys walking through the jungle with rifles that it's interesting the way this one grabs us through its command of the locations and its storytelling skill. Read full review

The result is a strong, amoral action film. [29 Jan 1993, p.C]

Aside from a neat, if somewhat overused, optical effect that follows speeding bullets all along their whizzing aerial tracks, there is nothing here that hasn't been done before, but it's all executed with competence, starting with the performances by Tom Berenger and Billy Zane. [25 Jan 1993]

For all its obviousness and insipid dialogue, Sniper does have many moments of armchair-clutching suspense as the two Americans dance and dodge their way around those speeding rebel bullets. And now and then there are flashes about the dark memories that sniper must endure. It's just that those moments and insights are unfortunately too few. [27 Jan 1993]

It's mostly just buddies-bonding-over-bullets stuff. [29 Jan 1993, p.24]

Although it's got a skeletal plot lifted from such comic books as "The Punisher" and lasts in the memory about as long as a Life Saver lasts on the tongue, there's something about Sniper that grabs your attention and holds it, loosely but firmly, with just enough Adrenalin to keep your pulse just a beat or two above normal. [29 Jan 1993, p.23]

Best of all, is this knock-out, though overused, optical effect of a bullet hurtling and whizzing through space toward its target. Sniper is sure to appeal to armchair assassins and fantasy war-gamers. Beyond that audience, Peruvian director Llosa's American debut will appeal to anyone interested in well-made and well-acted pictures that compensate with skill for what they may lack in inspiration. Read full review

A virtual two- hander, the narrative proceeds by contrasting Berenger's edgy pragmatism with Zane's unwilling induction to the art of murder, though the director's inventive bullets' eye-view shots still fail to dispel the suspicion that the film has little new to say. Read full review

Sniper is an expertly directed, yet ultimately unsatisfying psychological thriller. Luis Llosa’s first-rate action direction is undermined by underdeveloped characters and pedestrian dialogue. Read full review

Action fans probably won't be offended, provided they're not expecting Berenger to be America's answer to James Bond. There are occasions when Sniper shows flashes of promise, although most of these are short-lived. The film is capable of providing a one-hundred minute diversion for anyone who has nothing better to do. The potential is here for something much better, but, unfortunately, Sniper shoots itself in the foot. Read full review

Sniper moves briskly along, aided by the lush photography by veteran Bill Butler. [29 Jan 1993, p.I]

Sniper is the Tom Berenger film that'll be forgotten by this time next week. [30 Jan 1993, p.C3]

But most of Sniper is a bore. The details of their assignment are never spelled out, the middle of the film sags, and, in any case, it's hard to work up much enthusiasm for these snipers, heroic though their mission may be. In the movies, heroes must be larger than life: There's just not much excitement watching two guys hide in a bush, waiting for a clear shot. [3 Feb 1993, p.3]

Only mildly exciting as it grinds toward its conclusion, Sniper falls apart in the last reel as writers Michael Frost Beckner and Crash Leyland dispense with credibility by turning the rebel and drug lord's forces into the Keystone Kartel, invoking a Magic Bullet and attempting an Oliver Stone denouement. Unfortunately, director Luis Llosa is no Oliver Stone. Read full review

A movie for people with time to waste, Sniper is about as compelling as a Soldier of Fortune magazine cover set to music. Read full review

As written, directed and played, Miller is as much of a nonentity as Beckett. Their initial enmity and subsequent reconciliation have no more dramatic impact than the battle scenes, which look as if they were planned by amateurs. The two central characters remain as vague as their targets, who are briefly seen at a distance through gun sights. Read full review

It's for those of us for whom killing people with high-powered guns in the movies is not only as good as sex but maybe better -- a sacrament for our age... [A] poorly written, badly directed film. Read full review

Sniper offers slow-motion close-ups of bullet trajectories for action, plodding for nearly two hours. Berenger may wonder if Zane has the stuff to pull his trigger, but I prayed for someone to pull the plug. [29 Jan 1993, p.4D]

What on Earth is Tom Berenger doing in a picture as awful as "Sniper"? [2 Feb 1993, p.D7]