SNIPER: SPECIAL OPS (2016) **

Since I found Code of Honor surprisingly enjoyable, I thought I’d double down and see Steven Seagal’s OTHER 2016 sniper movie, Sniper:  Special Ops.  I guess I should’ve known lightning wouldn’t strike twice.  Still, it’s far from Seagal’s worst Direct to Video effort.

Despite the title, this has nothing to do with the Tom Berenger/Billy Zane movies, although it’s about on par with them.  Seagal plays a sniper who is left behind enemy lines with a wounded comrade in Afghanistan.  Tim Abell is the squad leader who is given orders not to stage a rescue mission.  When he comes face to face with the daughter in-law of a Taliban bigwig, he uses her as a bargaining chip to extract his men.

This would make a great double feature with Code of Honor, not only because Seagal plays a sniper, but because of how little he’s in it.  Also, he spends most of his screen time sitting in a chair talking to his buddy who’s lying wounded on the floor.  As with Code of Honor, you can tell by the way it's shot and edited that he and Seagal weren't even on the set at the same time. In fact, I'm not sure Seagal even acted alongside anyone in the cast.

Oh, and did I mention this was directed by Fred Olen (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers) Ray?  He’s one of my favorite modern-day exploitation filmmakers, but the film itself is much too bland to really compete with his best stuff.  The script is a bit too one-note (it uses war movie clichés that have been around since the ‘40s) and there isn’t a whole lot of action.  Still, I got a kick out of seeing his usual stable of actors (like Jay Richardson) popping up here and there.

The funniest thing about the movie is the DVD art.  I love how it touts “Seagal” and “Van Dam” as if people who can’t read will be suckered into thinking it’s a team up between Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.  Really, Van Dam is none other than pro wrestler Rob Van Dam, who plays one of the military grunts.  He doesn’t do enough to really deserve that kind of billing, but you have to admit it’s makes for great cover art.