The devil is definitely in the details with the film, Seven Snipers, so aim to pay attention… because surviving the unexpected might be necessary.
Staying alive can be difficult sometimes, and not paying attention to the finer points of warfare could be the difference between life and death. Example A: Kris Hendricks, aka “Voodoo Child” (played by Radha Mitchell). As a retired elite soldier, she and her rebellious teenage daughter, Anja (Annabel Wolfe), seem to be content living in the Australian bush, away from society, but those best laid plans are quickly shot down when a stranger randomly appears on their property.
Masquerading as a developer seeking a plum property purchase, Kris quickly realizes her almost two decades-long cover has finally been blown and action must be quickly taken, as a dangerous warlord sneaks onto the scene. One problem: her daughter is missing!
Calling in a huge favor, she reunites with the remaining members of her former squad of — you guessed it, snipers (hence, the title!) — participating in a bloody battle of cat and mouse. Not all demons of the past are hidden forever and by piecing together the backstory’s details hidden in plain sight, the viewer should be fully prepared before the final battle begins.
“Two is one. One is none. Together, we survive.”
(L to R) Charles Cottier as “Junior,” Damien Ryan as “White Dog” and Pacharo Mzembe
as “Nico” in SEVEN SNIPERS. Photo Courtesy: Well Go USA.
Listed as an action-thriller, the main draw of watching Seven Snipers is the Big Bad, who is played by non-other than Tim Roth! Known as “The Dragon,” this mystery man always seems to be a step ahead of his contemporaries, incorporating more survival skills than all of the squad, combined, but little is known — or shown — about him. How is he so dangerous when the odds are clearly not in his favor?
Tim Roth contributed mightily to my Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction fandom many years ago, and I’ll never forget that. Because of this, I was expecting some mighty tasty scene chewing here… instead, Seven Snipers mostly provides reactionary shots from the headliner. Clocking in at a lean 88 minutes of runtime, this story is light on necessary details (and backstory), while being heavy on the action… which happens to be right up my alley.
The tension mounts as bodies start dropping before Roth even speaks a word but seeing the veteran actor hidden inside a ghillie suit more than makes up for that producer’s oversight. At least for a few minutes. And just like the vague mission briefing provided to these mercenaries hunting down the ghosts of their past, all signs seemingly point to a larger-than-life character.
Unfortunately, as the details of the storyline constantly hint at but never fully explain, The Dragon’s depth is never fully realized, although his power is clearly shown. I kept expecting multiple flashback sequences to fill in the blanks of these characters past lives, only to be teased with a nibble at the film’s conclusion. Underutilized on the screen and severely underdeveloped as a character, Roth’s purpose here seems to be simply selling this script in order for the production to receive the green light. That is terribly disappointing.
While the action is nonstop and the scenery is top notch — blink and you’ll miss the obligatory kangaroo b-roll shot — my main complaint lies with writer Andrew O’Keefe.
Eventually, the vague remnants of the film’s storyline are revealed to be a simple revenge fantasy, and a violent one, at that. While plenty of great movies can be built off simple premises, this one needed more than filler scenes to build a solid foundation.
Minimalistic storytelling shouldn’t be feared while trying to dodge overindulgence or a production budget’s inflation, but not including many opportunities to allow your featured star shine is also a big swing and a miss. And I suppose Roth was only contractually obligated to film a limited number of days, which didn’t include much dialogue.
Bummer.
These details should have been addressed and worked out before any final contracts were signed and the cameras began rolling. Seven Snipers is a misfire for me, but Roth’s ex-military warlord demands a do over… and one with much more dialogue!
“You can’t escape him…”