6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Colombian drug kingpin Jesús Morales secretly pays for the services of a sniper nicknamed “The Devil,” capable of killing one-by-one the enemies of anyone who hires him. With no adversaries left alive, Morales grows stronger and gains control of more smuggling routes into the United States. The DEA, alarmed by this threat to the country, sends agent Kate Estrada, who has been following Morales for years, and Marine sniper Brandon Beckett to Colombia. Their mission: Kill “The Devil” and bring Morales back to the US to be tried for his crimes. The agents think they have everything under control, but Morales and “The Devil” have prepared plenty of surprises to keep the mission from succeeding.
Starring: Chad Michael Collins, Billy Zane, Tom Berenger, Danay GarciaAdventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Russian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
Russian VO
English, English SDH, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Czech, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
It's probably more coincidental small sample size and recency bias than anything else talking, but direct-to-video movies seem to be getting a little better these days. Look at films like Security, Boyka: Undisputed IV, and now, Sniper: Ultimate Kill and there seems to be at least an effort to make something worthwhile -- not meaningful or even memorable, but worth the audience's time -- rather than just drivel like 7 Seconds or Driven to Kill that amounted to nothing more than washed-up actors with recognizable names running around a mindless plot. Sniper: Ultimate Kill is, what...pause to Google it...the seventh (!?!) film in the franchise that started back with 1993's Sniper, a solid but not exactly memorable film that definitely didn't have "long running franchise" written all over it. Yet, somehow, the film has propelled a number of sequels over the last quarter-century, not all of them of insanely high qualities, but give credit to Sony for making sure this one is a solid little Action flick and a worthy successor to the original. It brings back a pair of familiar faces into the fold, and even if the plot is very straightforward, it's well done from all angles and makes for a quality little watch.
Sniper: Ultimate Kill shines on Blu-ray. The image boasts a beautifully filmic texturing. Details are precise and effortlessly complex throughout. Faces are well defined, beards are dense, pores are deep, military uniforms are crisp, gear is elaborate. Environments are crisp and finely detailed as well, whether larger open areas, such as where the first military assault takes place, or in dense urban environments that are a treasure trove of visual goodness. There's never a shot when the transfer gives up its excellence. Colors are firm and flattering, deeply saturated and perfectly balanced. Natural greens dazzle, and multicolored attire and building façades offer a rich, rewarding environment. Black levels hold deep and skin tones are accurate. No serious source or encode flaws are present. This is a tip-top transfer from Sony.
Sniper: Ultimate Kill's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is as big as its configuration allows. Reverberations from large caliber sniper fire is always impressive; the concussive blast and lingering echoes are spacious and deep. More dense and diverse gunfights offer plenty of punch and zip with shot originations all over the stage and a healthy sense of depth. Music is spacious and well defined, balanced about the stage with quality detail and seamless fluidity. Quality atmospherics help shape several scenes, whether general office din or light natural ambience. Action certainly drives this track, and gunfire is the unequivocal highlight. Dialogue is firm in its front-center positioning and always well prioritized and detailed with lifelike precision. Direct-to-video though it may be, Sniper: Ultimate Kill enjoys a blockbuster-caliber soundtrack.
Beyond some trailers for other Sony films, Sniper: Ultimate Kill contains no supplemental content. No DVD or digital versions are included, either.
Sniper: Ultimate Kill delivers a quality movie watching experience. It's certainly no classic or anything of the sort, but it features quality production values, some exciting sniper duels and general action scenes, a serviceable plot, well-rounded characters, meaningful returns for the two original figures from the franchise, and good performances all-around. And for the seventh (again...wow!) film in the Sniper franchise, that's pretty good. Sony's featureless Blu-ray does deliver very strong video and audio. Recommended.
2018
2017
1983-1987
2004
1998
2016
1997
2015
1989
2011
2010
2010
2016
2019
2021
1971
2018
1989
Limited Edition
2008
2021