I have seen the previous "Sniper" movies and where a few of them achieved cheesy action movie status this film was far from even that. The original may not have been entirely accurate or plausible but was good enough to carry through and be entertaining."Reloaded" Lacked much, it had some nice polish and potential in a few areas such as the setting and even the simplistic story might have been good if it had been handled better...but it wasn't.Almost every single military personnel was way off, it was as if no one had any actual training "yes they are actors but they are trying to portray professionals". Since when do marines freak out, disobey orders, ignore and insult superiors and almost seem to run INTO gunfire and how come so few can hold a weapon without firing randomly and from the hip? There where numerous situations where people were under fire and they would just stand out in the open firing from the hip and literally making themselves targets. Maybe badly trained militias would do these things and sure at some point in time it was okay to walk into gunfire in formation but no way is that something well trained modern troops do especially when you only have a vague idea on where your enemy is and they(the enemy) are picking people off.The acting is bad, the dialogue is weak, the camera work and pacing is all over the place. the story is somewhat mishandled and it truly has the least to do with sniping of any of the films.Over all it came off more like a pretentious fan boys take on the series.Some may like it but if you want more than action movie clichés then chances are you might not enjoy it too much.

After seeing this movie I was really disappointed! The story was thin and shallow and one should expect more from a movie with a theme like this. How can you expect to turn "sniper" over night? And in addition, these rifles are not especially good in close combat which they some to use them as all the time....The relationship between the main character and the female character goes from nothing to everything in a very short time, and so does the relationship between the main character and the instructor. This makes the whole plot even more unreal.The scenery, landscape and wildlife are a great addition to the movie, but unfortunately this alone is not enough.Not worth watching in my opinion.

For the most part, any film that relates itself to a franchise by having the words "Son of" end up doing horrible with fans and audiences. Son of the Mask (2005) is a perfect example of this type of fail. And then there are the few that actually respect their elders instead of jumping all over them. Sniper: Reloaded is exactly what it implies in the title; Berenger's out, time to bring in his "son" to fill in the shoes. And it's done almost perfectly to that of the first Sniper (1993).This "fourquel", as some would call it, is about the story of Sgt. Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) who decides to fill in for his legendary father, Master Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Beckett, played by Tom Berenger in the past three films. Collins looks astonishingly similar to that of Berenger and it was stroke of luck that he acts just like him too. Thank you Christa Schamberger for casting Collins, you're great! And that's just one actor to be thankful for.Then there's the character of Richard Miller (Billy Zane) who is now overgrown looking and has receding hair. So much for what he used to be! Now he's back to help Beckett's son become a sniper. And it's an honor to see Zane's character as the father figure in this film. This is the duo that made this franchise a hit and it's gratifying to see Richard Miller reciprocating what he learned to Tom Beckett's son. Not mention the fact that Zane makes his character so nonchalant yet charismatic. I laughed at a lot of the lines Miller had to say. It was fun to see him again.The way John Fasano configured the script was cleverly written. There are some many juicy hints and references that will fans cringing with joy. Right at the beginning fans will even see a military record of Tom Beckett with an authenticated picture. Sweet. The audience will even learn why Brandon Beckett joined the marines. A specific character mentions even the line "One shot, two kills". Ahhh the memories! One thing that disappointed me was that even with all these clues, the truth to what happened to Thomas Beckett is left unmarked. Why? I guess the only thing we can assume is that since Berenger did not reprise the role, the character of Beckett Sr. is dead too. Oh well.Like the past two sequels, the sniper franchise has moved to an action genre and has abandoned the thriller part of it. That still annoyed me but for what it's worth, this particular action was more entertaining than Sniper 2 (2002) or Sniper 3 (2004) put together. The carnage was turned up too which was a nice touch. It made the warfare more fun to watch. Credit to director Claudio Fäh, also director of far less entertaining Hollow Man 2 (2006) for the action sequences. His direction was much better than the Hollow Man sequel.The scenery is great too. Sniper 2 (2002) was in the midst of a city and it didn't seem as real for a sniper to be taking out enemies there than in a Panamanian jungle. Sniper 3 (2004) had some of that but still failed to elevate it much higher. But Sniper: Reloaded is all filmed in the African Sahara. The audience will even get to see live animals; simply beautiful. Both Mark Sayfritz and Marcus Trumpp had an enjoyable musical soundtrack. Of course since this is a direct-to-video sequel it won't be released, but it does feel authentic and not just random notes put together.Finally, as love interests go, I'd say it didn't have to be penned in but it did help make a good subplot. Annabel Wright plays Beckett's secret lover, Lt. Ellen Abramowitz, who helps him find the bad guys and take them out. I'm not sure why a sex scene was obligatory to have in the running time though. I guess it was that the story revolved around Collins, and because he's hunk, he's suppose to have sex with a fairly attractive military chick? I don't know. But overall I was very pleased with the outcome and it even leaves itself open for another sequel, which hopefully will happen with the same cast from this movie.Aside the few nit-picks, Sniper: Reloaded is hard not to enjoy. The story, action, music, script and atmosphere by far surpass the last two sequels.

Sniper Reloaded is a film about politics but apparently some of it's bloodthirsty reviewers expected some sort of African cowboy action movie! Well, for what its worth, they got one insofar that there was plenty of blood (one wonders about their mentality though).OK, this is a (relatively) low-budget movie with (for me) only one known actor (Zane) in it. I particularly noted that, for over half the cast, this is their only film credit. Well that made it real! Congolese people played Congolese people as they would be in the prevalent conditions. Kayla Privett, in her first (and only) acting role, portrayed a kid who's dad had been shot only a short while after their reunification. Maybe her youth and inexperience was a valuable asset in portraying a bewildered girl in a hostile environment. I hope she has a professional manager and we see more of her in the future. I wish that there was a bio for her on IMDb.In particular, I liked how Beckett (Collins) and especially Miller (Zane) did what they were supposed to do and actually hit their targets - no messing. This is a kill or be killed action - so they only had one chance. We (the viewers) weren't insulted by any of that crappy 'hero' stuff where the good guy gets into a big moralistic discussion with his target (except at the end where that was the plan anyway). When the hero, Brandon Beckett eventually faces the sniper, Masiello, he just shoots him in the face! There was nothing to discuss. Masiello knew why Brandon was there and Brandon knew why Brandon was there - end of story! I guess I'm sick and tired of movies where the protagonists do numerous death scenes when, given the number of bullets/sword wounds (or whatever), still come back for more. As I say, it insults the intelligence - and this film doesn't have any of that! Great!I also liked the inclusion of wildlife and scenic shots throughout the movie. That gave it realism and showed how political conflict and ambition are no respecters of location. Not a blockbuster by any means - did the producers ever expect it to be? Surely, if they did, then they would have used some big-name action stars like Bruce Willis and Jason Statham. I enjoyed it though.