I thought this was one of the better installments in the whole _Sniper_ franchise…once I got past Danay Garcia and her "tough guy" act. (I was really hoping she'd been killed off in that opening firefight/farmhouse scene; unfortunately, she managed to survive throughout the entire movie.) It was nice seeing Tom Berenger with more than a cameo and Billy Zane - never my favorite but he grows on you, kind of like a fungus - pulled off his "less tough guy, more politician" role nicely as well. I thought the storyline was well-written (although it had its cliche moments and more than enough "roll your eyes" spots, as well) and they pulled it off in spite of some glaring plot holes. In all seriousness, just about the **only** thing that was a turnoff to me for this particular film was, in fact, Danay Garcia; I didn't care for the _"You all suck; I'm the lead dog here."_ act at the beginning, and then the subsequent attempt - VERY poorly done, I might add - to show her having an "emotional moment", was just way over the top. I think if they had eased off the "tough guy" routine in her initial appearance they _might_ have been able to pull off the emotional/vulnerable scenes a bit later in the film; as it was, they made her appear like Iron Man and then tried to turn her into a sensitive helpless little girl who needs to be protected by all the tough men surrounding her. It failed miserably, and wound up tainting the entire movie. In spite of her, though, I found the film very entertaining (predictable, of course, but what movie isn't these days?...and after 6 previous installments, shouldn't it be a bit predictable to anyone by now?) and definitely worth watching for those interested in the _Sniper_ franchise. It _could_ conceivably stand on its own as a story, but the interactions between Berenger, Collins, and Zane might be confusing to anyone who hasn't followed the franchise. I would consider watching this one again…if only they could change the script and kill off Danay Garcia like within the first 17 seconds, maybe while the opening credits were rolling?

The Sniper series is a huge guilty pleasure for me, and I've loved each and every entry in the series thus far, with the exception of the previous movie, Ghost Shooter. I actually had no idea a new entry was being made, much less had come out, especially since it has only been about a year since Ghost Shooter was released, so I was pretty surprised when I came across this listed on Itunes as having just come out.

I'm so happy to report that I enjoyed this movie far more than I did Ghost Shooter. This is everything Ghost Shooter wasn't - It gives the characters, both new and old, personalities, it has an engaging story, well-shot action scenes, genuine moments of suspense, and a few moments of levity and humor; all things I look for an expect in a Direct-to-Video Sniper sequel, and all things lacking from the previous entry. There's even a pretty heavy subplot about snipers dealing with PTSD, depression, and even suicide because of what they have to do in their line of work, and Beckett Jr thinking he might be starting to go down that path himself. The end scene of the movie where all the characters are saying goodbye to one another and Billy Zane's character, knowing what Beckett Jr is currently going through mentally, and knowing what he's worried about, asks him if he's going to be ok... god damn, those feels. It's a small but fairly important subplot in terms of the smaller details. Most "mindless and dumb" DtV action flicks wouldn't think in a million years to add such a small detail to their movie, but I'm glad this one did as it is a real side effect that affects snipers in the real world (and all military people for that matter, and I feel our Governments don't do enough to help them with it, but this isn't the place to discuss that).

On the flip side, however slight, as engaging as the story was it was also extremely predictable, including the identity of who the mole on the inside was. And as great as it was to have both Billy Zane and Tom Berenger back in the same sequel, AND actually have them interact with one another, I still feel as though their reunion (first time together since the very first movie) was not treated quite like how I would have liked it to be (as in, it wasn't really treated at all other than a quick dialogue exchange that while was a little funny, also felt emotionless), and neither one have a whole lot to really do. Billy Zane was simply a glorified cameo, and Tom Berenger, while he has more screen time than Billy Zane, isn't given much to do as his character has since retired from being a Sniper and now works essentially a cushy desk job and is the brains behind this movie's mission, working solely from inside the command room. Also, it took me a few scenes to realize that even was Tom Berenger as he looks nothing at all like he does in the other movies, and actually looks eerily like Edward James Olmos.

While it does have some missed opportunities within it, it's still a fun entry in the series that I enjoy quite a lot, and I love that it included aspects and little details that it really didn't have to, but definitely add to the movie. It's certainly a hell of a lot better than the previous entry was, and in fact, it's one of my top favorite entries in the entire series thus far, second to only the original.