A hilariously violent ride
Summary
Sniper: G.R.I.T. is easily the most violent film of the franchise where you’ll find yourself saying “holy shit” quite often but it’s done in such a cartoonish fashion that you just kinda laugh along with it. This is a long way from where the franchise started 30 years ago but the fact it still has fans (like me) shows that they must be doing something right.
Plot: When an international terrorist cult threatens global political stability and kidnaps a fellow agent, ace sniper Brandon Beckett and the newly-formed Global Response & Intelligence Team — or G.R.I.T. — led by Colonel Stone, must travel across the world to Malta, infiltrate the cult, and take out its leader to free Lady Death and stop the global threat.
Review: I don’t think I reviewed the last Sniper movie (Rogue Mission) but I remember it felt very different from all the other movies. It was essentially a soft reboot where it was more of a buddy comedy rather than a Sniper movie.
Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) is now part of an ensemble cast alongside Ryan Robbins as Zero, Luna Fujimoto as Lady Death and Dennis Haysbert as their boss.
Sniper G.R.I.T. (Global Response & Intelligence Team) continues on from the last film but is a vast improvement in every way with more of Brandon doing Sniper-y things, tons of graphic violence and regular action scenes.
G.R.I.T. may be the most violent of the entire franchise as there were various moments where I was saying “holy shit!” with one highlight being Brandon, Zero and Lady Death shooting a guy all at once… he is very, very dead.
There is some very black humour in this movie and the tone some may find jarring as it feels more like a cartoon rather than the other Sniper movies and takes away some of the stakes but I’ve decided that I like that they are trying something new to try and keep this very long running franchise relatively fresh.
Intelligence Pete (Josh Brenner) is a fun addition and manages to keep a straight face while demanding orange soda wherever he goes. The villains aren’t especially memorable although I did love the opening scene which felt like classic Bond with a meeting between various bad guys.
I’m now used to the team aspect and Brandon and Zero have some fun banter with Lady Death also being totally badass; her fight scene at the end is awesome and one of the many action highlights.
Overall, Sniper G.R.I.T. is a far cry from what the original movie was but if you can get past that and just enjoy the absolute carnage that ensues on screen then you’ll have a good time.
