Sniper overwtch missions have been a family business for Master Gunnery
Sergeant Thomas Beckett (not to be confused with the archbishop) and his son
Gunnery Sergeant Brandon Bishop. Business has been brisk over the course of
eleven Sniper movies. The father (Tom Berenger) starred in the first
three, with the son carrying the Sniper standard in the subsequent
eight. Perhaps this might be Brandon Beckett’s final mission, judging from the
finality of the title. If so, Beckett will surely go down shooting in Danishka
Esterhazy’s Sniper: The Last Stand, which releases tomorrow on VOD.
Beckett
isn’t even sure which African nation Zeke “Zero” Rosenberg, agent of G.R.I.T.
(Global Response & Intelligence Team), has secretly infiltrated him into—and
it is probably best for him not to know. If Americans are caught participating
in the country’s civil war, it would surely lead to a diplomatic incident. Wherever
they are, the government is not merely oppressive. It has become a safe haven
for Kovalov, an arms dealer transparently based on Viktor Bout.
The
local freedom fighters contracted G.R.I.T. to capture or kill Kovalov and his
tech guru, before they finish the cutting edge WMD they have reportedly been
developing. For Zero, it is not just a job. It is personal. Zero nearly had a
line on Kovalov twice before, but red tape slowed him down. There will not be
any bureaucrats delaying this Wild Geese-like mission.
The
initial breach of Kovalov’s government compound proceeds like clockwork.
Unfortunately, the arm’s dealer manages to send an S.O.S. to the regime militia.
Then he activates his mysterious new pulse weapon, which eventually kills him
along with half Zero’s team, through some kind of delayed effect. Instead of
retreating, Beckett convinces the team remnant to stay and fend off the
militia, while the resistance leader uploads all the weapon data to various
intelligence services around the world. Anyone who recently downloaded the
latest Windows upgrade understands how long that could take.
Screenwriter
Sean Wathen’s narrative is not exactly complex, but if you enjoy VOD action
movies, this one delivers bounteous servings of red meat. Frankly, all of
Esterhazy’s action scenes are adrenaline-charged and cleanly choreographed. It
is wall-to-wall pedal-to-the-metal action—and almost nothing else.
Shazam and Captain Marvel are weirdly like Dr. Frankenstein and his monster.
People often casually refer to the latter by their creator’s names.
Technically, Shazam was the name of the wizard who conferred the powers of
Captain Marvel on young Billy Batson. That is the DC Captain Marvel, who is not
to be confused with Marvel Comics’ Carol Danvers Captain Marvel. Frankly, for a
lot of fans, the real Marvel Captain Marvel was the legendary Mar-Vell, known
on Earth as Walter Lawson, whom Marvel killed off in 1982. Confused? Then you
can watch the better animated version of the DC Captain Marvel’s origin story,
in Joaquim Dos Santos’s Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam, in
honor of Billy Batson’s in-world birthday (12/23).
Clark
Kent is trying to do good with his pen for change, by interviewing a scrappy
young orphan named Billy Batson, who lives by his wits on the streets of
Metropolis. However, the evil Black Adam crashes their breakfast, hoping to
kill Batson, “The Chosen One,” before the wizard Shazam powers him up. That
would be the same Black Adam the Rock tried to portray as a conflicted
anti-hero in the live-action movie. However, Arnold Vosloo (of The Mummy franchise)
gives a definitive Black Adam voice-over performance that is unambiguously
sinister.
Fortunately,
Shazam whisks Batson to his secret chamber outside of time and space, where he
bestows the powers of Captain Marvel on the confused teen. By invoking the
Wizard’s name, “Shazam,” he transforms into a full-grown superhero, with powers
much like those of Superman. Inconveniently, one of Superman’s few weaknesses
is a vulnerability to magic, which is the source of Black Adam’s power. Fortunately,
Captain Marvel is only one Shazam away from joining the fray.
Indeed,
all three caped super-characters get nearly equal time slugging in out in this awkwardly
titled installment of DC Showcase. It delivers a bounty of aerial
fighting action in a mere twenty-five minutes, which still makes it one of the
longest short films in the under-appreciated series.
