Customer Reviews

The Marksman

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

Synopsis:
With terrorists holding a recently decommissioned Russian nuclear reactor hostage and the possibility of it being reactivated as a bomb, it's up to the elite US Army Rangers to go in and stop the Terrorists and save their hostages before the worst can happen. The Rangers are joined by the Marksman (Snipes) a consummate professional loner as they go in. But not everything is as it seems. When things go awry, only the Marksman can save the day.

About the Movie:
If my synopsis sounds silly, it's because this entire movie is. I'm a fan of Wesley Snipes, so I picked this up when it came out, sight unseen. Bad idea.

Unfortunately, this is by far the worst movie I've seen Wesley Snipes in. He's been in some mediocre films, indeed, but this one takes the cake. Filled with hammy actors and crippled by a ridiculous screenplay and ridiculously sloppy film editing, this movie screams "B-movie."

First off, The whole plot of this movie was just plain silly. Russians allowing the US Military to do an anti-terrorist operation at one of their own nuclear facilities, simply because US citizens were on location? Russia would never allow such a thing any more than the US would if the situation were reversed. Worse is the suggestion that they'd allow a military airstike on their soil. And what was up with the air combat? There was no reason for it but to see stock footage of airplanes flying about.

Secondly, the acting by many of the main characters was terrible. Undoubtedly editing and direction had some blame in this as well, but the acting overall was just atrocious. Snipe's female opposite (Emma Sams) was the worst offender of all, her lines delivered with all the conviction of a high school stage performer. It doesn't help that her dialog is just poorly written. Most of the movie's dialog is. And don't get me started on the attempted "romance" between her and Snipes.

Thirdly, I hate when movies get things so ridiculously wrong. Since when have any Special Forces run around with heavy, thudding footsteps, clearly visible flashlight beams waving around and talked in full voices while behind enemy lines? REAL special forces use night-vision, barely audible throat mikes and hand signals, and they also learn how to walk without sounding like the Spanish Inquisition. This movie had those guys running around like they were a bunch of amateurs playing paintball. Worse, their behavior towards one another was just as ridiculous. The Rangers in this movie didn't even pretend to act like a tight knit military unit.

Honestly, just a little more attention to these details and the quality of this movie would have jumped up by 3 notches.

Fourthly, in a number of spots in this film, the camera direction and film editing was terrible. The most notable occurrence of this was near the end during a firefight. The camera switched from an inside view to an outside view of a window, and in each case, the actor was in different positions and worse, moving completely differently. It was distracting and glaringly bad. This happened in a number of other places. Editing film is an art, and in this case, someone was using a preschooler's fingerpaints.

Yeah, this movie was just bad. It's the sort of movie you get a bunch of friends together to watch and make fun of the entire time. The sad part is that this movie takes itself so seriously. Wesley Snipes must be desperate for a job to take on this garbage. Frankly, his performance in this movie is so unmemorable, that you could have slotted in just about anyone and it would have come out the same.

About the DVD:
The Marksman comes in a standard plastic snap case. Overall picture and sound were decent and really I didn't notice any major issues with either.

Other features included a single aternate language track and a complete lack of subtitles, something I found a little odd. Likewise, the special features on this disk are not special at all, consisting only of theatrical trailers.

Clearly there was minimum effort put into this DVD release.

Bottom Line:
The DVD is bare bones and the movie, well, don't bother unless you LIKE watching turkeys. This movie is pretty bad. Don't say I didn't warn you. A 1 star movie and DVD release.

This movie is simply a cookie-cutter, straight-to-video, low budget, poorly acted stinker. I like Snipes, especially in the Blade trilogy. To see him in this film (though you don't see as much of him as you might think - he may have 20 lines of dialogue throughout) is really embarrassing after seeing his better work. I guess all actors take some jobs for the money, and all I can say is that I hope he got a boatload for this one. Emma Sams, the lead female actress, does such a poor American accent, that she almost seems as though her dialog was dubbed in. The rest of the actors are directly out of the B-list and placed in sterotypical roles that are boring and predictable. And the military scenes? Ugh. This film was written/directed/produced/advised by folks with just enough knowledge of the military and operations to be dangerous. For example, the captain of the US aircraft carrier USS Eriske (or something like that) wears a hat that says "SSN Eriske" - for those in the know (and many who aren't), an SSN is a nuclear powered SUBMARINE. Not a carrier. Screw ups like that are prevalent throughout the movie - to include the almost total lack of hand signals during tactical movement on target by the "Ranger" team sent in with Snipes - everyone seems to prefer to operate by the ultra-covert "talk in your normal tone of voice when the enemy is nearby" tactic (haha). And the individual Rangers seem to get to follow their own orders if they don't feel like following the orders of their senior officers ("I'm outta here!" is one memorable line) Oh well. It may be worth a rental if you are a big Snipes fan, or if you have 90 minutes of your life you don't need or want back.

On the one positive note - the movie location scout did a great job - the "set" which actually appears to be in Russia or one of the Russian republics, is actually pretty cool, and may even be the saving grace of this film.

Got the movie and was very excited at the prospect of a Wesley Snipes action spectacular. The editing is horrible, the props (fake MP-5's, fake UZI's, helicopters that are obviously been cheaped out - could not even afford a huey.) - the action sequences are few and far between.

If you are looking for an action movie - skip this one. If you are drunk and looking to lose 2 hours of your life that you will never get back - or suffer from insomnia - watch this POS.

You know a film is bad when you can't even finish watching it.

1. Russians don't fly F-16s or Northrop Tigersharks
2. Used airial combat scenes from Top Gun, Navy Seals and Iron Eagle.
3. Used ground explosions from Iron Eagle
4. SpecOp Forces don't manuever around like they are playing on a paintball range.
5. Editing was horrid (Airial cut scenes from films that take place in the middle eastern desert then jumps to what look like Pennsylvania woods)
6. Acting was so bad I started to chuckle at the cheesey lines and delivery.
7. Plot would be better suited for a computer game.
8. Captain of the 'USS Oakla'(no such ships exists) has a hat with SSN depicting his CARRIER's Class; well SSN means the hull classification symbol used by the United States Navy for an attack submarine that is propelled by nuclear energy, such as the Los Angeles-class of attack SUBMARINES.

This was as far as I got, about 50 minutes into the film. I'm no critic and can enjoy a film for what it is but this was the most slapped together garbage I have ever seen.

Sad to see films like this mess get the backing of the studios when little films of far greater significance and value lie in languor. This story (bad guys in a foreign country get close to atomic capabilities that would threaten the world until one turnaround soldier man saves the day and the globe) has been told so many times that the audience can sing along. The use of a lot of night shooting is obviously well considered as there isn't much to see anyway.

What happened to the Wesley Snipes who used to make really interesting films? Obviously the producers felt his star power could drive this dud as the remainder of the cast is unknown (though many seem to be really fine actors without the benefit of a script).

Thought about not wasting time reviewing this film, but then on the other hand, if enough people speak out about the bad movies that just keep coming down the pike, perhaps the studios and theaters will begin to pay attention. Grady Harp, October 05

`Marksman' is not as bad as you might believe after reading so many negative reviews ... well, at least, what the film is struggling to be is not that bad. The problem is, you need much more money than is spent here, to make a decent action film based on this script, which encompasses a wide variety of action film elements that have been seen in such films as `Behind Enemy Lines.'

Wesley Snipes plays "Painter," a laconic, sullen, and deadly special agent who is sent to a nuke plant in Russia with other elite soldiers. He must set a homing beacon for the missile attack AND save the life of the seven American scientists held as hostage there.

`Marksman' is surely a slick action film, but "slick" here merely means it does not spend too much time on Painter's past activities in Bosnia, or the relation with his ex-lover and senior officer played by Emma Samms. Fortunately the film has no lengthy flashbacks or anything that might delay the actions, and I personally find no problem with their acting or casting. The idea of US military officers speaking with British accent is not very effective even in the direct-to-video actions, but you can just stop paying attention to it.

The real problem is the film's unimpressive actions. They include several explosions, air battle, shoot-outs, and a tank running wild after a poor Russian, but none of them really works. I hate to say this, but the action sequences are mostly thrill-free, with terribly edited shots borrowed from action scenes of other better films. See for example the dogfight that tries to be as exciting as summer season blockbusters, but you know it only disappoints us when the film repeats the same footage, replaying the same cheesy explosion.

Many other reviewers have already pointed out the numerous plot holes and factual inaccuracies of the film. No film can be totally from goofs, I know, but the countless goofs in `Marksman' and its badly edited sequences suggest that the film company either experienced a troubled production, or they just did not know what to do with its results. Either way, it remains true that `Marksman' marks the career decline of Wesley Snipes who needs another `Blade' very quickly.

Bought this because of Wesley Snipe... An explosive action-adventure thriller where nothing is what it seems. Don't put too much expection on this but ok to pass time.... 2.5 out 5.

Hampered by a wooden performance from Wesley Snipes and an incoherent script, THE MARKSMAN is one of those straight to video action films that manages to keep the viewer's interest. This is largely due to some good action sequences and stunts. A pleasant surprise to see the lovely Emma Samms (Dynasty) in a rather useless role, but she adds a little class to the proceedings. The story is predictable, and it's unfortunate that Snipes, usually a pretty animated actor, chose to play or underplay his heroic role. Entertaining but non-monumental movie.

During recent weekends, I had spent some leisure time to watch three action movies on cable television.

The three movies shared a common thread: the principal character was more or less a lone wolf operative, with military background; trained in covert operations & skilled in weaponry.

Although they did not have the plot intensity or complexity when compared with any of the recent 'Bourne' or even 'Bond' movies, they were generally entertaining.

For me, entertainment comes first when I watch a movie.

The first one was 'Target'.

The second was 'Avenger'.

The third was 'Marksman', starring my favourite action hero, Wesley Snipes.

I had watched many of Wesley Snipes' action movies: '7 Seconds', the 'Blade' trilogy, 'Art of War', 'US Marshalls', 'Drop Zone', 'Money Train', 'Demolition Man', 'The Detonator', 'Murder @1600', 'Rising Sun', 'Passenger 57' & 'Unstoppable'.

One of the reasons I like to watch him in action movies is because he is trained as a martial artist in real life.

In 'Marksman', he played an army ranger with the code name: Painter. His job was to mark out targets on the ground in preparation for directed missile strikes.

A group of Chechen rebels had taken over a supposedly decommissioned nuclear plant inside Russia. Together with a team of army rangers, his job was to go in & rescue the scientists. It was meant to be a simple extraction job. However, it turned out that there was a complex agenda behind the rescue & the mission was unexpectedly compromised.

The rescue helicopter was blown up. A few rangers were killed on board. The remaining rangers were captured on the ground by the Chechen rebels, with the exception of Painter & another ranger, who managed to escape.

Painter realised that the original mission would have sparked off an inadvertent thermonuclear war between Russia & the United States.

The remaining segment of the movie showed how Painter, using his instincts, outsmarted & outmanoeuvred the rebels to find out the truth & also to rescue their captured buddies.

The high-octane, explosive action sequences were beautifully choreographed, as Painter made a crafty manoeuvre to elude the well-armed rebels in one particular scene, & together with the other escaped ranger, mounted a daring rescue of their captured buddies near the nuclear plant, in another scene.

The final ending sequence was also good as well as gripping, as Painter rushed, under extreme time pressures, to remark the target for a directed missile strike.

There were some aspects of the story that intrigued me: it was hard to imagine that Russia would allow army rangers from the United States to operate inside their territory, not discounting the fact that US carrier-based aircrafts had also to navigate Russian air space to reach their targets.

Nevertheless, for me, I had really enjoyed watching this action movie. Just watching Wesley Snipes doing his martial antics already made my day!

This is a low budget with a script that had great promise. This action-packed military movie stars Wesley Snipes and Emma Samms. Both of these actors do an ok job with what they are given to work with. Like another reviewer said, let us be thankful they did not try for any flashbacks to tell back-story in this film.

The story line has the U.S.A. being tricked into targeting a fully functional nuclear reactor that was captured by Chechen rebels. And as we watch the missile being launched that will cause massive chaos for the region, if not the world, the Special Ops team led by Snipes figures out a way to stop the disaster from happening in an all to convenient and simple way. Still worth grabbing a bag of popcorn and checking it out from your local library.