Customer Reviews

Sniper 2 [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

OK, maybe I'd give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. But "Sniper II" was really not bad at all. Yes, I had lowered expectations going in, (I'd read some lukewarm reviews), so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the film.

The first "Sniper" movie was also a good film -- more of a character study than an action story (in my opinion). This sequel took on some of that same flavor as well, though there was sufficient action in the movie to keep it from dragging.

Tom Berenger reprises the original character (Becker) well. Somewhat anti-social (shy, really), grumpy but with deep feelings, Becker is an interesting and complex character. In this sequel, Becker is older, wider around the middle, but he still is a fabulous marksman (despite an injury that put him out of the sniper business after the first film). And so after years of retirement, he's called into service once again, on a foolhardy and convoluted mission.

His interaction and relationship with the other man brought in on the mission is good -- like in the first movie, he often calls this younger man "son" as he argues and bickers (and looks out) for him. I thought Becker's character was consistent in both films, and I liked this. I liked Becker, and it was nice to see him yet again.

However, just like in the first film, there was a somewhat anti-climatic ending, (left me thinking, "That's the end?") but it was still adequate enough. I cared about all the characters, but a few left the story too soon, and I felt cheated because I didn't get to know more about them.

So, in my estimation, I saw this film as similar to the first: An older and wiser sniper is paired up with a younger (but this time, *very* able) partner, on a dangerous mission in a faraway land. They don't like each other at first, but end up forging a friendship by the end. It was a nice movie. Surely it could have been better, but I was not disappointed. It would be nice to see another installment to the "Sniper" movies, with a little meatier ending. I'd like that.

I was able to suspend my disbelief and enjoy Sniper [1] to some degree (the inflight ballistics were neat), but this sequel is beyond my capacity. The "7.92mm German Mauser" identified early in the film is clearly a Russian Mosin-Nagant. The stock, the single stack 5-round magazine extending below the stock, the bolt, the iron sights are ALL unmistakable.

Clearly this movie had no intention of appealing to anyone who knows anything about rifles or sniping. No military sniper would plan to engage a target at the rediculously close range of 200 meters. No sniper would trust a rifle handed to him without first verifying its zero. Even more laughable, Berenger is handed a scope for the Mosin-Nagant and presumably mounts it, but then proceeds to use it without zeroing it! And where would he shoot it to zero it while being hunted? He was better off just using the iron sights!

Sniper [1] was bad, but Sniper 2 is a complete waste of time.

Sniper 2 is the sequel to Sniper made 10 years ago. Tom Berenger returns as Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett to take on a suicide mission. Joining him is Bokeem Woodbine, a Death Row inmate, who serves as Beckett's spotter. The two are sent to kill a general known to be taking part in "ethnic cleansing."

This movie, while still good, does not reach the same level of the first one. Something is missing in this. The action is good as is Berenger as the quiet but deadly sniper lured out of retirement. Woodbine is good as his partner, but Billy Zane was better. Overall a good movie if you've seen the first one(several allusions to the first one are made). Good performance by Berenger. The DVD is nothing special with a few trailers added on.

Just when you forgot the first "Sniper" movie, you get a sequel starring the original star Tom Berenger. I don't say the first one is a masterpiece, but still engaging because of the minute descriptions of the military snipers and their jobs, helped by flashy camera works Instead of Billy Zane, you see Bookeem Woodbine, and beautiful Hungarian Erika Marozsan.

Tom Berenger's character Thomas Becket, now retired and 50 years-old, is lured back to the suicide mission to sneak into some unnamed Eastern Europe country, where a certain general is suspected leading a genocide plan. To stop this, he and a guy from a Death Row is sent there. With a help from "Sofia" they have to "remove" the target.

"Sniper 2" is shot in Hungary, and shows some decent action scenes. It tries to show some surprising twists in its rather simple plot; it also has the merit of Hungarian locales.

But the film is not good. Tom Berenger and other cast give us convincing acting, but the story is often confusing. The film goes back and forth between the two places -- American HQ and the European country -- and there is very little sense of suspence. This is simply because we do not know what the heroes of the film want to do after the inital mission, which itself is not credible or exciting at all. The "surprise" you see is just making the whole film worse, because we don't see the need of it.

I liked Erika Marozsan, who was stunning in little-seen film "Gloomy Sunday" and that's why I watched this film. Here she is wasted, and when she exits from the story, she just goes, without any emotional impact. She just leaves from the scene, as if going home for lunch. It is incredible, but she really wanted to go home, being tire on the set.

And please. What ever happened to Tom Berenger, Oscar nominee in "The Platoon." I don't think it is a good move for him to do this kind of film, or a sequel no one remembers. He is good even in this straight-to-video B-film, showing menace and charm at the same time. He deserves a much better film.

This is not so much a review as a public health warning - this boring, unbelievable, poorly-written and -acted(??) rubbish should be avoided at, if you'll pardon the expression, gunpoint. On one of my favourite gripes; autos get hit by streetcars every day, but they don't explode in fireballs. I'd no idea that gasoline was so explosive. I think I'll give up driving.

I give this DVD only one star because I can't give it any lower. In fact, this movie truly merits the Teemacs Five Black Hole Award. I'll not be seeing "3".

I'll keep it short and sweet.

Sniper 2 was not as good as the original and the plot was very hard to follow. Also, the premise that Master Gunnery Sergeant Beckett was the only sniper that could carry out this mission was absurd.

The original Sniper with Tom Berenger was a decent guy flick, and was a staple movie of my circle of friends during high school. So, meeting up with a friend of mine from highschool, we decided to check out the sequel. Sniper 2 finds Mr. Berenger reprising his role as Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett.

Overall, the movie was pretty interesting, the plot far exceeding the latter Rambos. Beckett is losing his skills as a sniper and gets put out to pasture, but then is recalled for a special assignment in the Balkans.

Flavors of the betrayal and the Dirty Dozen are thrown in with the underground resistence and the usual sniper fare. The acting was varied, Berenger probably the most true to his hardass character. Berenger meets his extreme match with a professorial character hell-bent on passive resistence whom he has to rescue. The usual "justified killer" vs. "justified pacifist" banter ensues.

The ending duel was OK compared to the original, but the end acting was quite painful.

All in all, if you like Tom Berenger and/or the original Sniper, check this one out. You may like it or hate, but it's still a decent military movie.

I FOUND THIS MOVIE TO BE A LITTLE BETTER THAN THE FIRST SNIPER MOVIE. ONCE AGAIN TOM BERENGER IS RIGHT ON AS GUNNERY SGT BECKETT, MARINE SNIPER. THERE WERE NICE LITTLE REFINEMENTS OVER THE FIRST MOVIE WITH MORE BELIEVEABLE SCOPE CROSSHAIRS, AND EVEN SOME TECHNICAL TALK ABOUT SNIPER CRAFT. I ALSO LIKED THE FACT THAT THIS MOVIE ACKNOWLEDGED THE ARMY SNIPER CORPS. THE FINAL SNIPER VS SNIPER DUEL WAS VERY ENJOYABLE AND RIVALED ENEMY AT THE GATES DUEL IN MY BOOK. ALL IN ALL A VERY ENJOYABLE LITTLE MOVIE. AS A RETIRED ARMY SNIPER, MY HAT IS TIPPED TO TOM BERENGER FOR BRINGING THE MILITARY SNIPER CORPS TO THE SILVER SCREEN.

In this sequel, Master Sergeant Beckett (Tom Berenger) is asked by the CIA to go to Bosnia to take out a renegade general/PM who is responsible for the ethnic cleansing of many Muslim natives. Beckett is accompanied by an death-row inmate, who is also an accomplished sniper/observer (Bokeem Woodbine, who played one of the baddie-soldiers in the movie "The ROCK"). In accomplishing their mission, the two of them must navigate within enemy territory and escape the clutches of enemy soldiers and enemy snipers as they head toward the border. This movie seemed like a cross between "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Enemy at the Gates."

The acting was very good, especially by Berenger and Woodbine, and by the rest of cast, most of whom are unknown. The two main characters worked well together and I was relieved that there was no Billy Zane character (whom I found very annoying in the Sniper 1) this time around. At times the movie has too much talking toward the second half, but the story and the pacing of the movie is good. This movie is a worthy sequel to Sniper 1 and you would most likely enjoy it if you liked Sniper 1.

Ok lets take the movie at face value shall we. It's fictional and not a movie made for the theaters. With that in mind, it brings things into perspective a bit. I liked the first movie even though it was a little hokey. Over all the second intallment delivers all that the first one did and more. The effects are better, the story line is a little better and for the most part it's entertaining. Not an academy award winner for sure but I don't believe it was made to be. This is one of those movies that appeals to a smaller crowd. If your were/are a scout/sniper, then this move will seem stupid and a waste of your time. Possibly you can seperate reality from fantasy and enjoy it for it's simple story that makes the hero come out on top. Worth the time to watch.