SEVEN SNIPERS — A Few 2000s Action Stars as The B-Team!

Review by Steve Barton II

Has the action/thriller genre lost its charm and the grip it once had on the world? Of the top 10 domestic box office movies, over half of them fall into the action/adventure category so what is it? If it’s not the genre itself, is it the poor effort that seems to be put in or is it a lack of budget that handcuffs filmmakers into making a paint-by-numbers story with effects that looked dated 15 years ago? When it comes to Seven Snipers, the star power is on display, but the material itself is hollow and confusing. Seven Snipers follows a retired sniper, codename Voodoo Child (Radha Mitchell) who is living a secluded Australian farm life with her daughter when she’s forced to reunite with her former team of elite soldiers to fight off a deadly warlord named The Dragon (Tim Roth). The Dragon is there for one reason and he’s not leaving until he’s got it!


The biggest component that Seven Snipers has going for itself is its cast full of recognizable faces from the early 2000s. Whether it’s Radha Mitchell from her iconic role as Rose De Silva in Silent Hill, Ioan Gruffudd from his time as Mr, Fantastic in the early Marvel universe or the always incredible Tim Roth, millennials are primed to enjoy seeing their old friends. With this being an Australian production, they also grabbed some local familiar folks like Ryan Kwanten from True Blood and the underrated James Wan gem, Dead Silence in a cameo appearance to kick off the action. Fans of 2000s cinema will have a field day pointing at the screen, recreating the Leo meme as they dig into their memory banks and reminisce.

Unfortunately, Seven Snipers doesn’t use the talent they’ve acquired to make a great action thriller. The story being told follows a simple blueprint that’s been used several times over the last 20 years, only swapping out names and settings like a Mad Libs book you filled out as a child. Most audience members can accurately predict the conclusion before the first act is completed, even if the editing of some scenes feels uncanny and strange. It feels scenes are either missing or out of order, but noting that dramatically alters the outcome. While it does capture some visceral violence and tension with how brutal The Dragon is, the digital blood and CGI effects take the air out of the scene every time. While the low budget certainly plays a role, the effects in Seven Snipers would’ve been considered dated 10+ years ago and one shot almost looked completely animated. 


In the end, Seven Snipers has some interesting ideas and a few shocking moments, but nothing that you’ll remember even a few hours later. While it is fun to have a 2000s reunion of moderately famous actors, it’s not enough to make up for lackluster production and editing issues. Tim Roth makes for an entertaining villain from his acting prowess alone, but he’s not on screen for enough time so we don’t get the information we need to understand his motivations. The body count does stack up and the violence can be shocking, but the blatant CGI blood splatter ruins it. If they cut one or two of the bigger names in the cast and invested in squibs, blood packs and a rewrite on the script, Seven Snipers may have deserved the top spot Walmart bargain bin or on top of the digital rental list. 


Seven Snipers releases on Digital platforms starting June 5th!


Rating: 2/5