From Flop to Phenomenon: Renowned Sniper Expert Hails 30-Year-Old Action Movie!

Summary

A real-life special-ops sniper praises the 1993 movie Sniper for accurately portraying the details of being a military sharpshooter, such as camouflage and sniper techniques.

The film served as inspiration for the sniper to pursue a career in sniping, with commendation for its portrayal of the roles of a sniper and spotter, as well as the effective use of ghillie suits.

Nevertheless, the sniper criticized the film for its unrealistic scopes and recommended utilizing a soft surface beneath the rifle to enhance stability. Despite these flaws, the film still receives a rating of seven out of ten from him for its overall accuracy.

A poorly received action movie from 1993 has received praise for its realistic portrayal from a real-life sniper. Billy Zane, who would later become famous for his role in Titanic, collaborated with Tom Berenger in Sniper, a military action film about a seasoned sharpshooter teaming up with a rookie for a perilous mission in the jungle. Directed by Luis Llosa, the same director of Anaconda, the movie was heavily criticized by reviewers, as shown by its current 38% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and only earned $19 million at the box office.

Despite the fact that the first installment of the Sniper series is far from being considered an action movie classic, it surprisingly succeeded in accurately representing the life of a military sharpshooter, according to one expert. In a video feature for Insider, Nicholas Irving, a real-life special-ops sniper, shares how he personally found inspiration from the partnership between Berenger and Zane in 1993, and goes on to analyze the film's portrayal of the sniper profession, commending it for realistically depicting aspects such as the use of camouflage, weapon capabilities, and sniper techniques. However, Irving does criticize the movie for its unrealistic depiction of scopes. Watch the video below (around the 6:35 mark) to hear what the real-life sniper had to say.

Growing up, I was captivated by this movie, which fueled my desire to become a sniper. The key elements of being a sniper include possessing a rifle and wearing a ghillie suit. The purpose of the ghillie suit is to blend in with the surroundings by obscuring the outline of the human body and resembling brush or foliage. However, achieving effective camouflage is not solely dependent on the ghillie suit itself. It is crucial to incorporate natural vegetation into the suit to blend in seamlessly with the environment, avoiding the appearance of simply being a bulky pile of ghillie suit.

In a sniper team, there are two roles: the spotter and the sniper. The spotter is responsible for observing and providing assistance without pulling the trigger, using a spotting scope. Unlike the common misconception of a red dot camera, the spotting scope typically features a reticle that resembles or is similar to the one used by the sniper. This reticle assists in determining the distance to the target and tracking the bullet impact by utilizing mil dots or radiant lines.

As a sniper, the majority of my job involves observation rather than pulling the trigger. It is quite uncommon to have the opportunity to take a shot. Much of our responsibility includes relaying information, monitoring activities, capturing visuals, and informing commanders about the ground situation. Hence, we must be prepared to stay out there for as long as necessary.

I believe the techniques used by the sniper were satisfactory. It seems like they were using an M24 sniper rifle or a similar variant. These rifles are effective within a range of 800 meters or 650 yards, which is a reasonable distance for a sniper aiming for a body shot like myself. However, I would suggest placing something soft underneath the rifle, such as a pack or backpack, to provide stability and minimize vibrations. This helps to maintain accuracy and prevent excessive movement. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the performance a seven. Initially, I was leaning towards an eight, but the inconsistencies in the sniper scope and reticles brought it down to a seven.

Sniper Later Spawned A Long-Running B-Movie Franchise

The original movie, released in 1993, may have been unsuccessful, but it eventually became a franchise. In 2002, Berenger returned for the sequel Sniper 2, which premiered on Cinemax. He also appeared in the direct-to-video Sniper 3 in 2004. After a hiatus, the franchise resurfaced in 2011 with Sniper: Reloaded, featuring Zane but not Berenger. Zane eventually left, and Berenger returned for Sniper: Legacy in 2014.

Now established as a popular Redbox action series, the Sniper franchise has produced five more films, with the latest, Sniper: G.R.I.T. – Global Response & Intelligence Team, set to be released in 2023. Chad Michael Collins and Dennis Haysbert have become mainstay actors in the later films, while Zane and Berenger make occasional appearances. Out of all the quick-and-dirty action sequels, only Sniper: Ultimate Kill in 2017 managed to reunite the original film's two stars. While the original movie may not have been outstanding, it accurately portrayed how snipers operate in the wilderness, according to a real-life special-ops soldier.

Source: Insider/YouTube