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.
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