On a whim I decided to watch Sniper: Legacy when I saw it was being offered on Netflix. I thought why not? I was also a little curious to see how much this would be on par with the excellent original with Tom Berenger.
Very soon though I realized that Tom's role was minimal and that Chad Michael Collins is supposed to be the main character. He is playing Brandon Beckett, son of Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger). And you know what I liked the guy and how he carried himself. I only wished that the interactions with Tom Berenger would be more compelling. The whole son of a legend thing could have been an interesting angle to explore if only to motivate main character Brandon to come close or do better. Another issue that could have spiced up things was the fact that Tom Berenger wasn't that much of a father and was mostly absent from his son's life. I wasn't expecting Shakespeare mind you but at least one altercation or angry discussion would have been nice. Nope none of that. Thomas Beckett immediately admits being a bad father and if it would not be easier to skip the drama and not discuss it any further. And son dearest agrees. That's it. That basically is the core of their dynamics. Just so that you get a picture of how empty the characterization is compared to the original. At least in that one you got to know a little more about who they were. Here most of it is avoided. Solely so that they could focus on the action. The action is decent enough but is lacking context. I wasn't really invested in it because it never felt there was something at stake. Sniper: Legacy is completely devoid of any thrills and suspense. It also doesn't help that good actors like Tom Berenger and Dennis Haysbert are phoning in their roles. Oh yeah and all this time they keep mentioning how these guys are the best snipers in the world and yet when engaged in shootouts 90 percent of the time they miss their mark. It totally destroys the vibe and on occasion feels like a parody on the genre.
To be fair. I had my expectations in check and it was tolerable enough although I did fall asleep two times towards the end. Had it been engaging or had some amount of tension that would not have happened. I think this is one you can watch late at night or on a rainy Sunday. Other than that it is not worth your time. To be clear. This does not measure up to the original in any way.
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