REEL ACTION: Tom Berenger and Billy Zane in Sniper

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

SNIPER (1993)
Rating: 3.5 on 4 / Buy the DVD here

Tagline: One Shot. One Kill. No Exceptions.

Directed by Luis Llosa

Starring Tom Berenger, Billy Zane, JT Walsh

THE PLAN: A veteran sniper (Berenger) is teamed up with a newbie government man from D.C. (Zane) in the jungles of Panama to locate and assassinate a rebel leader behind enemy lines. Over the course of the mission, more targets arise for the taking, and a rogue sniper is fast on their trail, shadowing their every move.

THE KILL: The great thing about SNIPER and why it’s enlisted in the Reel Action hall of fame is that, from the outside, it’s not a typical Reel Action entry. Here is a film that features no women (not even strippers), no car chases, only a handful of explosions, and its body count isn’t particularly high. But that’s where its honorarium as a Reel Action entry comes in: the whole movie revolves around a badass whose entire mission in life is to run around in the jungle with a huge gun, and kill people. It doesn’t get any more Reel Action than that!

Berenger plays government sniper Thomas Beckett with extreme force, backed with a rugged ferocity that only an older actor in the action genre could pull off. He’s the aged expert in the art of being a sniper, the seasoned film’s veteran. He has the rugged scowl of a guy who’s seen it all, who’s dead and hallow inside, and who’s 100% testosterone. He also has a knack of going on missions with a partner, and coming back alone. This is where wannabe badass Zane comes in, who should by all accounts, not be in a Reel Action movie, but manages to play the desk-jockey company man / rookie sniper partner quite well. Mostly because he’s pretty much a pussy for most of the film, but manages to grow a pair by the final act, and even looses his mind a little bit in the process.

If it bleeds, we can kill it. Oh wait… wrong movie!

Much of SNIPER plays like a smaller, condensed version of PREDATOR, except with less macho men to account for (two versus eight), and no alien killer systematically taking them out. I guess, as a stretch, you could consider the rogue sniper following them throughout the film like Predator, but not nearly as nasty, cool, or menacing. On the other hand, SNIPER’s also a little like MISSING IN ACTION, and could have easily been made a decade earlier in the wake of the Vietnam war. And to Berenger’s character, I suppose it might as well be.

When the two aren’t trudging through the jungle trying to man-up each other, or hiding from some unseen enemy, they’re hiding out waiting for their targets to show their ugly mugs so they can blow ’em away. And that, my friends, is where the Reel Action badge is earned. When the action kicks in, one bullet-filled carcass drops after another. From the helicopter / sniper shoot-out near the beginning, to the multi-assassination jamboree at the target’s jungle compound, Berenger and Zane bring it with the skill of relentless killers–er, that is, Berenger does. Zane is the film’s suit-wearing bitch, but he comes around and starts capping peeps off with scope-searing speed and skill. Let’s just say, commander’s chillin’ at jungle-hidden compounds should be weeping with their tales between their legs for years to come at the thought of these two dudes coming to pay them a visit.

I’ve heard of people being on grass, but this is ridiculous!

The only thing that’s truly missing from the film is T&A. There’s a whole lot of zip, zilch, zero, nada, nothing going on here, and while a nice ass shot or a titty reveal doesn’t make a movie, it definitely helps–and when there’s a such an empty void in the ladies department, it stands out. Not that the story or the film needed any cheap T&A, but like I said… it would have been nice. PREDATOR, and pretty much every other movie, out-chicked this one… and that’s saying something!

This is the pic that comes with ‘seasoned badasss’ in the dictionary.

When it comes down to it, the big question is this: does SNIPER deliver the Reel Action goods? And the answer is, yes… yes it does, with the force of a long-range high-powered sniper rifle! Berenger’s gruffness, Zane’s cockiness, and a few action set pieces equal a fun time at the movies. It’s not a perfect film, and it’s not a perfect action flick, but it’s entertaining, and it throws the action into the jungle, which is the next best thing to a strip club or the streets of a big city. Wanna know why there’s been so many straight-to-DVD sequels? Check out SNIPER today and find out!

Trailer for SNIPER!

TOP DEATH: Straight from the trailer and all things promoting this movie, the sniper shot through the enemies scope and into the enemies eye is classic. Not only is it slowed down so we can see every penetrating move of the bullet in question, but the camera even rides the bullet through part of the scene. It’s like you’re actually the bullet itself splattering the guy’s brains all over the jungle brush.

I’ve got my eye on you, Billy Zane!

TOP ACTION SCENE: The raid on the drug lord’s compound for the two shot kill is most impressive. Not only does this sequence involve exploding heads and sniper action, but Berenger gets into a nasty fist / knife fight in the middle of the chaos as well. From the anticipation and the waiting for the targets to arrive to the moment when all Zane and Berenger can do is run through a field of tall grass to survive, the scene is classic. Two guys, two guns, an army of mercenaries… guess who comes out on top?

TOP HOMOEROTIC MOMENT:We’re talking about Zane here, so we know it’s gonna be a little bit gay. But besides Zane’s boyish good looks, over-use of eye liner, and clean-cut facade, it can’t break down the sheer testosterone manliness that is Tom Berenger.

Even Billy Zane can’t make this gay.

FEMALE EXPLOITATION:Not even a strategically placed centerfold in the background graces the screen. Boo!

TOP LINE/DIALOGUE:
Zane: When the “rush” is over, it hurts. Doesn’t it?
Berenger: What you’re feeling now ain’t the worst pain. The worst thing is not feeling the hurt anymore.

Before he went down with the Titanic, Zane modeled for face paint / mascara ads.

DRINKING GAME: Every time Berenger grimaces at Zane for being such a tool, you gotta drink!

TRIVIA: A sniper in the United States Marine Corp. by the name of Carlos Hathcock really shot an enemy sniper through his scope then through his eye. This part of the story is true.

BUY THE DVD HERE