Sniper *** (1993, Tom Berenger, Billy Zane, J T Walsh) – Classic Movie Review 11,272

‘One Shot. One Kill. No Exceptions.’

Director Luis Llosa’s 1993 Sniper stars Billy Zane as American rookie Richard Miller, who is helicoptered into South America to join US Marine veteran Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger) on a killing mission of a rebel leader in the jungles of Panama.

Sniper is a predictable but tense war action thriller, competently make and neatly acted, with the star team working efficiently together. It is mostly Boys’ Own (or Dads’ Own) stuff, but with one or two little very grisly bits.

Apart from a couple of tiny longueurs for the usual war moralising, it is a pretty exciting B-movie adventure, realistic and often intense and scary.

Sequel Sniper 2 followed in 2002, again with Tom Berenger.

Also in the cast are J T Walsh, Aden Young, Ken Radley, Reynaldo Arenas [Reinaldo Arenas], Dale Dye and Richard Lineback.

Sniper is directed by Luis Llosa, runs 98 minutes, is made by Baltimore Pictures, Iguana Producciones and Sniper Productions, is released by Tri-Star, is written by Michael Frost Beckner and Crash Leyland, is shot by Bill Butler, is produced by Mark Johnson, Walon Green and Patrick Wachsberger, is scored by Gary Chang and is designed by Herbert Pinter.

It is shot in Australia and Panama.

It is rated R for strong bloody violence, torture and some strong language.

The UK Entertainment in Video 15 cert DVD cuts some scenes and adds scenes or replaces scenes in the R-rated version.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,272

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