TL;DR – A film about snipers should be tense, not dull.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription used to watch this film.

Seven Snipers Review Introduction

As we continue to catch up on releases before the end-of-year onslaught happens, there is one Australian film from earlier this year that I wanted to get my eyes on. Conceptually, the idea of multiple snipers facing off against each other deep in the Australian bush is something that you have to see.  

So, to set the scene, Chris Hendrix (Radha Mitchell) lives deep in rural Australia with her daughter Anja (Annabel Wolfe). Chris is a little high-strung, which of course is perfect fodder for a rebellious teenager. However, Chris is not just some normal strict parent; she is a former special forces operator who has been living in hiding after antagonising the ruthless Dragon. But when a local real estate agent turns out to be an assassin, Chris realises that after decades, the Dragon has found her. Calling in backup, Chris hopes to get in front of this when her daughter runs away, and then the bodies start dropping.    

Failure to Launch

Theoretically, this is such an interesting film. A master killer comes to take down a whole squad of snipers until only Chris is left. The tension that could have been mined from such a situation. Indeed, Ioan Gruffudd and Tim Roth are making the most of it. However, concept alone cannot make a film; a lot of different factors must go into making it work, and most of them just don’t land here. But before I get into that, I do want to take a moment to champion the location team for finding a beautiful place to film this. The musical score is doing a lot of heavy lifting, and the editing of the final confrontation might be the highlight of the movie.

Choices that Undercut

Given this is a smaller production, there is a lot that you are willing to overlook, such as the incomplete graphics of the opening car roll or awkward fire effects. However, there are foundation issues with Seven Snipers that just can’t be paved over. The first was the choice to add a rebellious teenager into the mix and not write the character to be anything more than an annoyance. The character Anja does not contribute anything to the film other than annoyance. That is one painful pillar; the other is keeping the sniper experts standing out in the middle of the open territory, out of cover, not paying attention. It feels like the research into sniper tactics stopped at the ghillie suit. Snipers are long range weapons, slow and tense, and this feels like it wanted to be a standard action film. It is the core of your film. Also, flashbacks are not a suitable replacement for a concrete narrative.    

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Seven Snipers? Well, I was excited for this film; unfortunately, now that I have watched it, I cannot recommend it. There are just too many foundational issues to overcome.

Have you watched Seven Snipers? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Seven Snipers, we would recommend Warfare to you because it also explores what it is like to get pinned down in one location by enemies, surrounded, with no way out.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Seven Snipers
Directed by – Sandra Sciberras
Written by – Andrew O’Keefe
Music by – Mike Forst
Cinematography by – Andrew Conder
Edited by – Stephanie Liquorish
Production/Distribution Companies – Monster Pictures Studios, Filmbarr, Head Gear Films, Kreo Films, Metrol Technology, Sandy Pictures, Screen Queensland, & Monster Pictures
Starring – Radha Mitchell, Charles Cottier, Ioan Gruffudd, Lee Tiger Halley, Ryan Kwanten, Pacharo Mzembe, Tim Roth, Damien Ryan, Bianca Wallace, & Annabel Wolfe
Rating – Australia: MA15+; United States: R