No Surrender Cinema: Sniper: The Last Stand (2025)
We’re not even a month into the new year and No Surrender Cinema is bringing you fresh content regarding one of Bulletproof Action’s favorite franchises! You heard the teaser from the man himself when Chad Michael Collins came to join us on the Bulletproof Podcast, you’ve seen the trailer that hyped it up, and now the time has come for me to talk about the 11th entry in the Sniper film series. Release day means review time, so let’s jump right in and discuss Sniper: The Last Stand!
SPOILER ALERT: As always, when it comes to new movies I like to warn people that there may be some spoilers ahead as you read on. I try to keep them to a minimum, but if you want your Sniper viewing to be spoiler-free, just come back once you’ve had a chance to check out the film!
The new film wastes no time in getting to the action, as the opening minutes put us right in the midst of Brandon Beckett’s latest mission. Paired up with a new sniper that we’ll come to know as Zondi, Beckett is putting his skills to work as a member of Operation Phoenix. The target of the mission is a man by the name of Ryker Kovalov, played by Arnold Vosloo. Action fans are sure to recognize Vosloo as Imhotep from the first two films in The Mummy franchise or his villainous role in Hard Target, and DTV aficionados may recall him as Liam Neeson’s replacement in the two Darkman sequels. He’s also known for one role in particular that I feel Chad Michael Collins had to appreciate; Vosloo played the legendary GI Joe villain Zartan in GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra and its sequel, GI Joe: Retaliation. Knowing what a big fan of GI Joe that CMC is, not to mention my comment on our podcast with him that the previous film in the Sniper franchise (Sniper G.R.I.T.) felt very Joe-ish to me, I thought it was a fun coincidence that Vosloo was the “big bad” here.
Unfortunately, we never do get an epic Sniper/GI Joe crossover fight to the death, because Kovalov decides to trigger his latest weapon just as he finds himself surrounded by members of Beckett’s current team. The detonation segues right into the title screen, and from there it’s a flashback to 48 hours prior, when Brandon Beckett first arrives on scene. Greeted by an overjoyed Colonel Modise, Beckett has to inquire as to what this mission entails, considering he’s been on six planes in the past 36 hours and doesn’t even know what country he’s currently in. It turns out that this is one of those “off the books” missions where Beckett’s presence is needed, but can’t be known. Luckily he came highly recommended by his buddy Agent Zero, who during his stay in Costa Verde has earned the endearing nickname of “Rosey”, which Brandon is not about to let him forget anytime soon. Zero explains that Kovalov is his “white whale”, but this time he has a chance to put a stop to him once and for all, and to do so he (and the others who have been recruited by Modise) will need Brandon’s help to ensure the mission is a success.
The rest of the squad (nicknamed “Dead Or Alive”) features a variety of characters, each with a particular set of skills. The group includes Modise’s second-in-command Angel; Hilo and Hera, aka The Axe Twins (and you can only imagine what their weapon of choice is); Nadia and Nova, the latter of whom is the nephew of the leader of the terrorist regime that is working with Kovalov; and Zondi, the young sniper who has no confirmed kills and who could benefit from Brandon’s tutelage. Along with several others, they make up the Phoenix Squad, a group of elite soldiers looking to restore Costa Verde’s former glory. I know I said with Sniper G.R.I.T. that I got a strong GI Joe vibe from it, and that vibe was felt again here, especially with the various soldiers each having a distinguishable trait (sniper, hacker, axe fighter, etc.). Oh, and while we’re on the subject of G.R.I.T., there were several mentions of that team throughout Sniper: The Last Stand including a humorous exchange when Beckett, rocking a G.R.I.T. muscle shirt, is asked by Hilo why a super-secret CIA team has their own merch.
We get all of the usual training exercises and team bonding that goes into life or death military ops, as Modise explains the gameplan to everyone. We also get some additional backstory to several characters, giving us a reason to invest in their fate as the movie moves towards the mission and the goal of putting an end to the threat of Kovalov. The only problem is, as we saw in the opening moments, Kovalov had other plans, and was willing to put his own life at risk to take Modise’s team out. On the bright side, that risk did not pay off well, which means Kovalov and his weapons designer are dead. However, that last ditch effort by the sadistic arms dealer did end up killing several members of the Phoenix Squad, cutting their numbers in half. Oh, and did I mention he put in a call to the militia just before Modise captured him? Because that militia is en route, and now it’s up to Brandon Beckett to rally what’s left of his allies for the biggest fight of their lives.
Fittingly for Chad Michael Collins, who portrays a character in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare I, II, and III, Sniper: The Last Stand feels like a video game come to life. This is exactly the type of movie that any action fanatic worth his salt will want to watch. Overflowing with intensity, full of explosive action and some amazing hand to hand combat sequences…it’s an adrenaline rush on film. I especially liked seeing Collins go into “run and gun” mode (Call of Duty fans will know what I mean) during the compound battle, and both the hatchet fight with Hera going solo against several soldiers and Angel’s brawl with a one-eyed female soldier were highlights of the film for me. I also applaud the decision to have several important character deaths happen early on, because it created such a tense atmosphere for the latter half of the film. It raised the stakes, enabling the viewer to not just become engrossed with the action and set pieces, but with what characters may or may not make it out alive. To that point, The Last Stand also dropped much of the humorous back and forth banter that I thought G.R.I.T. did well. We do get moments of Beckett and Zero busting each other’s chops, as well as Zero’s hilarious revelation about his favorite musical artist, but having the main characters needling each other after losing half their squad wouldn’t have felt right. I still think Collins and Ryan Robbins have a great chemistry with each other that makes the wisecracks work, but given where this film was taking us, I understand why Sniper: The Last Stand kept things serious for much of its runtime.
Speaking of Beckett and Zero’s G.R.I.T. tenure, there are some callbacks to the previous film, as well as something that will almost surely (fingers crossed!) set up the next film. I had a feeling going into this one that it wasn’t going to be Brandon Beckett’s last stand, and the final scene before the credits roll all but confirms there’s at least an idea of Beckett and Zero returning to action in the near future. With the enduring success of the Sniper franchise and previous entries cracking the Netflix Top 10, it’s clear that the fan support for the franchise won’t be fading any time soon. In fact, I fully expect Sniper: The Last Stand to be one of the top-watched movies on the app just as its predecessors were.
If Sniper: The Last Stand truly is the last time we see Brandon Beckett pick up his rifle, then I can say that the series is ending on a high note. As a longtime fan of the Sniper series I was excited for another sequel, but even more impressed by what the cast and crew delivered here. That said, the fact that we got a few teases in this film has me thinking that this won’t be the last time I’m covering a Sniper film for the site. I’m also sure that the popularity of the franchise is apparent to any of the studio heads who make the call on that sort of thing, and I think that this entry is only to going to help make the case for more sequels. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part, but if you go check out Sniper: The Last Stand you’ll see why this franchise has earned the love of action fans from around the world.