The Marksman

Good movie!

Good movie!

The movie had all the requirements to be an entertaining special ops/army movie. Decent plot, nefarious Russian villain, lots of guns, and copious amounts of explosions. The movie had a small twist that, fortunately, didn't detract from the action but heightened your sense of not knowing what you should believe. Wesley Snipes plays the Painter; a highly trained master of stealth with a spotted background exuding a subtle hope of redemption from the following mission. Not that much training is required for this mission, however, as all the Russians graduated from the same marksmanship school that the imperial stormtroopers emerged from. I enjoyed it, it reminded me of Mission Impossible if it had been directed by Ted Kotcheff.

This is typically one of those many movies that could have been much better if they were made by more capable people and relies on the name of a single star. The star in this flick is action-hero Wesley Snipes. Snipes is a very capable actor who does not often makes the mistake of showing his face in cheap flicks, unlike many of his colleagues. Now he does. 'The Marksman' tells the story of an elite group of Rangers. They are given the task of guiding a missile to it's target by planting a device on the target the missile can track down, this to prevent collateral damage. Meanwhile in Chechnya, a Russian warlord has assembled a small army and plans to mislead both the Kremlin and the Pentagon. Consequently, the chaos should allow some Communist general to overthrow the administration and re-establish Russia's communism. Snipes and his team are sent in to mark a nuclear plant before it gets re-cored, not knowing it has already been re-cored. The team gets betrayed and Snipes finds out it is all a setup. Then, it is up to him to rescue both his team and the world. This all sounds like a decent, action-packed popcorn movie, right? Wrong. The whole cast, save Snipes, act as if they are introduced in some soap-opera, the director seems to be unable or unwilling to choose where he wants to focus upon (action in Chechnya? Communist plot in the Kremlin? Personal problems between snipes and his ex-lover/psychiatrist/CO?)and the dialogue... sigh. And on top of all that, it is full of mistakes and some extremely low-budget special effects. The ground-action looks pretty decent, the location in Chechnya looks perfectly grey and abandoned, but my-oh-my, the air-combat scene... Even if it was the 70's they should be ashamed. It is a stealth-operation, right? Then why is Snipes the only one carrying a silenced weapon? Why does the carrier-captain wear a submarine-cap? Oh and one of the rangers seems to switch between his AK-47 and Uzi every other second. Soldiers keep jumping in the air many seconds after an explosion, guns fire without sound, soldiers get shot without anybody shooting and then there is this T-72 tank that wants to imitate his Goldeneye-counterpart. And, seriously guys... elite forces with Uzi's? My sister would have done better as the military adviser. All in all, this move has potential but this is completely wasted by miscasting, poor support-acting, poor plotting.. and then there is the air-combat scene. See for yourself...

The Marksman sounded good.But the results are less-than great.It concerns Wesley Snipes in the title role who "paints"(marks)enemy targets so they can be destroyed by air strikes.On one such mission involving a foreign Nucler plant that goes awry.Can Wesley save the Day?The better question is why Seagal is not in this? What we get is a routine actioner full of so many clichés that it could fill 100 DTV action films.Aside from a couple of scenes,and a genuine twist near the middle;It is totally boring 98 percent of the time.Devoid of any real good build-up or action sequences whatsoever. The movie also reeks of stock movie footage that has been culled from better movies.Even what looks to be Snipes 1994 actioner Drop Zone.Did I also mention NO martial arts throw-downs? Acting-wise Snipes looks totally uninterested or Bored.He barely speaks and shows zero Charisma that made him a star.Dynasty alum Emma Samms pops up as an Ex-lover/suit.She still looks pretty good,and could get a pilot on Upn instead of wasting her time with this dreck. Many other characters are introduced,poorly written,or disappear altogether that interest is hard to sustain. I am sure Snipes just took a check.And there is nothing wrong about that.But he should get out now to save his actors cred instead of wasting his time in this DTV wasteland.

Now I like direct to video Action. I like the cheesy lines... thousands of bad guys... but this movie was horrible. My eyes teared I was so bored watching this. My dog cried out in pain. The plot was weak and the acting was down right terrible. I'm giving it a 2 because I giggled at some of the scenes (I'm sure I wasn't supposed to though) and it had sort of cool fight scene. All in all don't waist your money. I bought this in a double feature package on Amazon. The other direct to DVD movie... FUGITIVE HUNTER. Now Fugitive Hunter was made cheap you can tell but it grabbed my attention and kept it. Way better flick. Compared to The Marksman I would give FUGITIVE HUNTER a 10! The movie probably that good but hey compared to this Snipes disaster anything would do. Save your hard earned money.

"The Marksman" is Snipes 4th DTV Movie. It feels like they rushed this film out because "7 Seconds" came out 2 1\2 months ago. Besides that, "The Marksman" is an enjoyable film. There are some slow moments but there's a sufficient amount of action. Snipes plays Painter, a soldier who is part of a strike force team for the government. When the Russians start planning to take over a nuclear reactor, his team tries to foil it. But it turns out to be a set-up, and now Painter is only one who can save the day. If you like Snipes, Russian stereotypes, and no character development whatsoever, you'll love this. For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Cruising the video store and picked up as a fan of Snipes. Didn't realize he had been involved in such a stinker. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Confusing initial attempt to set stage for world wide danger, continuity staff (if any used) were asleep at the switch. Army Ranger in tower would shoot out window with AK-47 and then the inside shot when he ducks from bullets had him holding a HK. One of the scientists when alive was a woman with long blond hair, all dead ones were men. Avoid at all costs! Even Snipes action scenes were not up to his usual standard. His 'stealthiness' in kicking the Rangers' butts during the training mission consisted of him running through the woods at night and they just couldn't see him. Then later he outruns a jeep with a guy firing a mounted machine gun at him. Stinko!

Sad to see films like this mess get the backing of the studios when little films of far greater significance and value lie in languor. This story (bad guys in a foreign country get close to atomic capabilities that would threaten the world until one turnaround soldier man saves the day and the globe) has been told so many times that the audience can sing along. The use of a lot of night shooting is obviously well considered as there isn't much to see anyway. What happened to the Wesley Snipes who used to make really interesting films? Obviously the producers felt his star power could drive this dud as the remainder of the cast is unknown (though many seem to be really fine actors without the benefit of a script). Thought about not wasting time reviewing this film, but then on the other hand, if enough people speak out about the bad movies that just keep coming down the pike, perhaps the studios and theaters will begin to pay attention. Grady Harp

I choose The Marksman while renting at the video store because I wanted a DVD that would be entertaining to watch and not a big risk. I figured that if Snipes signed onto the movie it couldn't be that bad. I wasn't expecting a great story, but at least some good action with the occasional action movie cliché. I think this movie must have been made as a practical joke to Wesley Snipes. They probably showed it at his birthday party. Every member of the cast overacted every scene. It was like every speaking character had their own monologue. The special effects were comical. During a jet fight scene they show an explosion that is supposed to be one of the jets blowing up. A few seconds later when another jet supposedly explodes, it appears to be the same explosion optically reversed, right down to the last piece of debris flying through the air. I would expect a movie to be this bad that didn't have a famous actor in the lead. But I never thought a movie with Wesley Snipes could be of this poor quality. He needs to have his head examined.