Coolest Snipers in Action Movies
Snipers are one of the coolest military forces around, because of their ability to use psychological warfare on the battlefield. It didn’t take long for Hollywood to pick up on the concept and produce a slew of films and franchises starring snipers with pinpoint precision and a calm attitude.
Given the extraordinary level of expertise required to become a sniper, the specialist characters in cinema have a certain fascination and mystery. These snipers, whether they’re unlawful killers or military heroes, are one-man armies capable of inflicting enormous damage with just a single weapon and a few shots.
Thomas Beckett – Sniper (1993)
Thomas Beckett was one of the first sniper heroes in the action movie genre, dating back to 1993’s Sniper. Beckett led countless operations behind enemy lines to eliminate various bad individuals as a Master Gunnery Sergeant with amazing precision.
He’s paired with Richard Miller, a SWAT unit sharpshooter and Olympic medalist with little combat experience, in the first film. Beckett and Miller create an acrimonious friendship that nearly kills the former. Beckett would go on to star in a series of Sniper sequels, where he continued to show off his gun skills.
Chris Kyle – American Sniper (2014)
The life of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, a tremendously gifted shooter who served on the front lines during the Iraq War, was the subject of this Clint Eastwood action film biography. With 255 kills under his belt, the actual Chris Kyle is considered a legend in the sniper community.
American Sniper delves into the trauma he’s experienced after years of killing on the battlefield, and how it’s affecting his attempts to reintegrate into civilian life. As a result, it’s one of the few films to address what occurs when the chamber has been cleaned and no one is left to kill.
Private Jackson – Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Saving Private Ryan’s sniper, Private Jackson, is one of the calmest and collected snipers in action flicks. Private Jackson (played by Barry Pepper) bemoaned their mission as a “severe misallocation of important military resources” in Saving Private Ryan. Despite not playing the lead role, Jackson made the most of his time in the spotlight. The pinnacle of his screen time came during a brief engagement with a Nazi sniper who was a split second late in identifying his American opponent.
His pinpoint precision comes in helpful multiple times throughout the movie, especially when his battalion is trapped down by a German sniper in a tower.
Bob Lee Swagger – Shooter (2007)
Mark Wahlberg plays Bob Lee Swagger, a Gunnery Sergeant for the US Marine Force Recon squad and an accomplished sniper, in this action film directed by Antoine Fuqua. The premise was criticised, however, because of the presence on the set of U.S. Marine scout sniper Patrick Garrity, the actual sniping tactics were fairly accurate. Wahlberg’s character is camouflaged in white on top of a frozen glacier and continues to wipe out opposing snipers before turning his focus to Jack Payne in one scene (Elias Koteas). Payne’s weapon is shot out of his grasp, and he is dismembered with another round.
Vassili Zaitsev – Enemy At The Gates (2001)
This film stars Jude Law in one of his best roles as Vassili Zaitsev, a man-made into a hero for Stalin’s propaganda against the Germans. It is loosely based on the events of a real-life Russian sniper during World War II. Zaitsev, who has been trained in the art of sniping since he was a child, is assigned as a specialist who makes life difficult for the invading Nazis at Stalingrad.
To make up for it, the Germans send in their own professional sniper, who uses an even more lethal tactic. Zaitsev must aim to keep one step ahead of an opponent who is well-versed in all of his techniques. He is only able to survive the ordeal by using all of his creativity and psychological methods.
