Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Sniper Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 21, 2021

Sniper is an interesting film that goes where others have gone before it: examining the psychological state of fighting men and their evolution in the fields of battle. But this film looks at two opposing perspectives from two very different men: a longtime sniper with a lengthy list of confirmed kills to his name who is focused on his mission, unafraid to pull the trigger, who thrives on the adrenaline rush of the kill. On the other hand is a man who has yet to kill another human being. He's not experienced and he's not particularly eager to get that first kill under his belt. The men clash with one another more frequently than they clash with the enemy, and the film's story centers on how their clashing personalities, contrasting combat experiences, and willingness to take human life must evolve if they're to survive their mission.

In Panama, Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger) and his spotter Corporal Doug Papich (Aden Young) successfully carry out their mission, killing a high value target clean and easy. But a botched exfil leaves Papich dead. Some time passes. Beckett is called back into duty, this time paired with the higher ranked, but combat inexperienced, NSC Agent Richard Miller (Billy Zane). While Beckett thrives on mission, Miller struggles to keep up, not physically, but psychologically. He cannot bring himself to pull the trigger with another man in his sights whereas Beckett thrives on the rush of the kill. As they approach their target, with an enemy sniper hot on their trail, Miller must reconcile his inability and unwillingness to engage the enemy, shed blood, and transform into a soldier if the mission is to have any chance of success and the men any chance for survival.

Sniper lacks suspense in its broadest narrative strokes. When the film introduces the idea that Miller cannot bring himself to pull the trigger, it's no surprise that he'll have to adapt or die to save the mission, and himself, before it is all said and done, and likely towards a climactic moment at that. It's also of no surprise that Miller and Beckett will clash, philosophically and physically. Miller's hesitancy will jeopardize the mission and Beckett's life, and even as Beckett is prepared to die for the mission, he'd rather it be an honest kill rather than a byproduct of what he perceives to be his spotter's incompetence at best and cowardice at worst.

The film, then, is reliant on how these scenarios and situations will develop and the sort of peril the characters will face as a result. None of it is particularly surprising, but Sniper must overcome its predicable threads with a gritty intensity and sense of immersion into the sniper's world, not to mention a deep exposure to two disparately juxtaposing psyches, to work. Berenger and Zane are very good at building their characters, the former with a gruff, gritty exterior, a man laser-focused on mission yet haunted by past failures and the men he's lost at his side. He is at once both killing machine and hurting human being. Deep down he is perhaps more worried about losing Miller than he is failing his mission. He keeps the dog tags belonging to the men he's lost at his side with him at all times and he certainly doesn't want to add another, no matter how his personality and mission approach may differ from his new spotter's own approaches and proclivities. Zane, on the other hand, builds the more audience-relatable character, a man who is tasked with a responsibility he does no want and who must fight himself as much as he fights Beckett and the enemy if he is to survive the mission.

The film is well made. Director Luis Llosa (The Specialist, Anaconda) takes advantage of the lush jungle environs to fine visual effect while also building a quick pace and intensity even for a story that necessarily must slow down as the snipers gradually work their way to target. It's in these slower times where the simmering tension between Beckett and Miller builds, and the action scenes are essentially a release that both offer exciting gunplay as well as new developments in the story, particularly as Miller cannot bear to pull the trigger and later as he must choose life or death, to satisfy his conscience or do what he must to ensure the mission's success and protect his, and Beckett's, life. This is a solid film all around.

Sniper Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony once again impresses with a catalogue Blu-ray release. From the opening minutes it's clear that Sniper is going to thrive on Blu-ray. While the picture is not perfect, it's steadily filmic, nicely detailed, and richly colorful. Grain is not intense, but neither is it scrubbed away. Excellent clarity on instruments inside choppers, jungle leaves and terrain, military uniforms, beads of sweat, stubble, face paint, and pores are all in evidence throughout, and with much of the action taking place at a very deliberate pace, with the camera lingering on characters setting up, moving slow, or preparing to fire, there's ample opportunity to enjoy the sort of in-depth richness the image has to offer. Colors are likewise solid, Most of the intense output comes in shades of green, whether because of jungle foliage or various military uniforms. Bursts of red blood add some additional color intensity. Black levels, particularly at night, are deep enough. Flesh tones are true. The print is free of any serious blemishes and the encode reveals no troublesome after-effects. This is a solid image all around.

Sniper Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sniper shoots straight onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is solid all around, never lacking anything more than tighter definition and lifelike clarity. Indeed, the track can be a bit unkempt at times. Interior rattling on a train at the 27-minute mark lacks dynamic clarity, sounding a little chunky, rendering the scene sounding a bit artificial and a touch hollow. Certainly tighter, modern audio engineering would have benefited such a scene, but even as less than perfect this example, and others like it, at least recreate a sense of essential place, even if fine detail is lacking. Conversely, the track offers some excellent jungle atmospherics in play, including singing birds and chirping insects scattered all over the listening area at varying volume and apparent distances from the central action, helping to build a believable jungle atmosphere that draws the listener into the world and sets a critical stage in any number of scenes. Listeners will enjoy good depth to chopping helicopter rotors and nice power to gunfire. Gunplay is a sonic highlight, whether considering the depth of a single report from a sniper's rifle or the rat-a-tat fire from AK-47s and other weapons randomly spraying and praying in blind hope of hitting a sniper who has just fired a weapon, probably from a distance those infantry weapons cannot even reach. But the sense of stage fill and essential accuracy and volume make for a satisfying symphony of gunplay as various scenes call for it. Saturating rain towards the end falls not with lifelike detail but at least a good sense of balance and basic immersion. Dialogue is clear and center positioned for the duration.

Sniper Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Sniper contains only one supplement: the film's Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:18). No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Sniper Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

With the deluge of Sniper sequels on Blu-ray already, it's a surprise that it took Sony so long to bring this original – and still the best – to Blu-ray. The picture is solid, brimming with character tension and playing out in the midst of good pace and tight action. The Blu-ray is disappointingly devoid of meaningful supplemental content but the video and audio presentations rate as a firm "solid." Recommended.