This was a pleasant surprise, all things considered.
Because the last Sniper movie - Rogue Mission - was so bad that even me, a huge, unapologetic fan of every other entry in the long-running franchise (this is the tenth installment, which is hard to believe), was thinking that, if this was the best they could manage, it should be the last. End it, and leave us with good memories of fun B-grade (in a good way) action films about guys named Beckett!
Thankfully, it wasn't the last one, because Sniper: G. R. I. T. is a welcome return to form. And aren't I happy about it?
If you enjoyed any of the previous Chad Michael Collins films, aside from Rogue Mission, of course, then you'll probably agree.
I realised very early on that everything is better here: the acting, the action, the script, which went in a different direction to what I expected after the first few minutes.
The cast look energised - especially Dennis Haysbert, who is probably seen more in this movie than any other Sniper film he has appeared in - as if looking to provide a mea culpa for their collectively shocking last effort. And, they do.
Is it believable? No. Is it violent escapism action fun? Yes. If this is the standard going forward, I hope there are plenty more Sniper movies to come.