Sitting down to watch the 2002 movie "Sniper 2" after having just watched the 1993 original movie, I must say that writers Ron Mita and Jim McClain actually managed to put together an entertaining and enjoyable storyline for this particular movie.

While "Sniper 2" doesn't take place in a jungle, as the first movie did, I will say that the storyline sure was interesting enough. And it was a nice change of pace to have Thomas Beckett (played by Tom Berenger) do what he does in an urban setting.

There is a good amount of action in the movie, which supplements the storyline quite well. So the 91 minutes runtime doesn't feel long, slow or boring. I was genuinely entertained by this 2002 sequel from director Craig R. Baxley.

So this is definitely one of those rare moments where the sequel is every bit as good as the original first movie. If you enjoyed the 1993 movie "Sniper", then you definitely should also watch the 2002 movie "Sniper 2". This was my second time of watching it since it was initially released.

My rating of "Sniper 2" lands on a six out of ten stars.

Direct-to-video sequel almost 10 years after the original is buoyed by a strong performance from Tom Berenger, returning as the titular sniper, and solid action direction form Craig R. Baxley, who directed the underrated "I Come in Peace." Berenger's Marine sniper character is now retired, but is called back for a CIA covert op and is once again saddled with a young know-it-all sniper, this time Bokeem Woodbine instead of Billy Zane. As you might expect, the mission ends up being more than Berenger bargained for, but it's nothing all that clever or interesting. As with the first film, the story is the weak point, though this film was minus the first film's focus on stealth and suspense and instead focuses on standard action film pyrotechnics and mayhem, which isn't bad but isn't as unique as the first film. The extended sequence in the original film of Berenger and Zane getting into position to take out a target was unique and a lot of fun. Overall, "Sniper 2" isn't terrible, but it's nothing to go out of your way to watch. Gary Chang provided the film's score.

The first Sniper film starring Tom Berenger and Billy Zane was one heck of movie. And I wasn't surprised when I discovered that Sniper had its own set of sequels. Thankfully, for this franchise, just because they are Direct-to-Video sequels doesn't mean the writers left out what happened from the first film. Sniper 2 does retain some good qualities but it lacks a lot of what made Sniper (1993) the best.

Tom Berenger is back as the intelligent and deadly marksmen, Thomas Beckett. After having a frustrating retired life, he's persuaded to take on another mission by the U.S. government. This time, it's to take out a leader named Valstoria in Europe. It's great to see Berenger playing Beckett again because who else could? Berenger has a way of making his character cool and smart at the same time. Accompanying Beckett is Cole played by Bokeem Woodbine. Woodbine's character is arrogant and by listening to him talk rudely to Beckett just didn't seem like a good match. Zane's character, Richard Miller. was arrogant too but in a different manner; he had no experience being a sniper.

Something that really throws this film off track is the location. The first Sniper film took place in Panama. Dense heavy jungle, where every bit of the soldier had to be covered in camouflage. The location here is the middle of a city. There's no room for this now. Making things even more off beat is how this sequel turned itself into an actioneer film. There's absolutely no hint of thriller genre in the running time. As Beckett said originally from the first film:

"We'll wait days, for one shot one kill."

There's no extended waiting time here. It's "On your mark, get set, go". Several cars blow up, multiple gunfights, and lots of explosions. Sure it's a different angle but there's nothing to be thrilled about anymore. The explosions do the job. All the audience has to do now is leave their brains at the door. Why make such a successful first film and then turn it into a brain-dead action franchise? Thriller films engage their audiences, but not like this. I did enjoy it to a certain extent but I wasn't enthralled by it.

Then there's the whole issue of Beckett not understanding what the Europeans are speaking. How come he doesn't know? Beckett's the smart one! Why does he have to play Zane's role in this film and be the one who's always behind the eight ball? It's almost like he took a back seat for this film. One thing that made me a bit happy was knowing that Gary Chang was back again to make the score to this sequel. It wasn't totally the same as before but it at least tried to recall the elements of the first movie to show its resemblance.

Sniper 2 is not the best sequel even with Tom Berenger and Gary Chang reprising their roles. The story is at least faithful to the first film but nothing else is truly memorable about it.