Reloading!
Chad Michael Collins is Brandon Beckett, son of Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger’s character). He is a Marine (although not a sniper) and the start of the film has him sitting in front of some legal brass talking
about a recent mission that took place in Congo. The film is structured as a flashback, which I’m normally not a fan of for an action flick, but Sniper: Reloaded did a good job with it.
The mission Brandon and nine other men were on was to extract a European plantation owner from a hot zone in the Republic of Congo. Despite being encouraged by the local UN forces in the area to evacuate due to an ongoing war with between the government and rebels, he refuses to leave. Brandon and his squad arrive to force him to vacate his home. However, a sniper ambushes the UN team and only Brandon manages to survive. After getting over his injuries, he is determined to identify and kill the enemy sniper.
But, Brandon doesn’t have the knowledge or skill to find and kill this sniper. Enter Miller (Billy Zane), who is a natural, older version of who he was in the original Sniper. He monitors Brandon and works with him, but his reason for even being in Congo is curious. The duo, along with Annabel Wright’s character, unravel corruption while the hunt for the enemy sniper continues.
Overall, Sniper: Reloaded is a pretty good movie. As a big fan of Sniper, I appreciated how many references and homages Reloaded paid, it’s definitely something fans of Sniper will notice and appreciate. The inclusion of Billy Zane was absolutely key to make this a much more “believable” sequel. I thought the actors did a nice job, despite a few awkward lines. The cinematography was good, and the Congo locations were serene. I didn’t care for the relationship between Collins and Wright, though; it felt completely unnecessary and out of place. Zane’s humor on the other hand walked a finer line — I thought his jokes were well placed and fitting. Finally, the balance of action and drama was good, although again I think it would have been a better, more serious film without the love interest.
Taking Aim On Blu-ray & DVD
This is what you might call a textbook straight-to-video release as there are no extra features, unless you count a bunch of trailers for other Sony films, which I do not. That said, the image quality doesn’t disappoint. Expect a clear and sharp image that holds up well in darker scenes, too. The DTS-HD 5.1 audio gets the job done very well, too.
No extra features is a disappointment, but frankly not a surprise. The majority of the target audience isn’t likely to care about the lack of extra features but it does still make recommending this release for purchase harder.
With that, let’s get to the summary…
