The Correct Order To Watch The Sniper Franchise
If you paid any attention to Netflix in late 2023 you may have noticed a couple of films from a franchise you'd probably never heard of hitting the Netflix Top 10. Those movies were "Sniper: Assassin's End" and "Sniper: Ultimate Kill," both of which are part of the remarkably long-running "Sniper" franchise. The series started with 1993's Tom Berenger-led "Sniper" before becoming a direct-to-DVD series with 2002's "Sniper 2." Since then, Sony has churned out a further eight films, all of which have gone straight to home video/streaming.
Berenger starred in the first three films as Master Gunnery Sergeant and sniper extraordinaire Thomas Beckett. While the first movie was met with middling reviews and made around $18 million at the box office, the great Roger Ebert seemed to like it well enough, giving the film three out of five stars and proclaiming it to be "a pleasure to watch," even if it wasn't "a particularly original film." Sony continued to pump out sequels, with Berenger stepping away from the spotlight after the third installment to give Chad Michael Collins a run at helming the franchise. Collins remains the star of the show today, playing Beckett's estranged son, Gunnery Sergeant Brandon Beckett, who like his father is a Force Reconnaissance Scout Sniper in the Marine Corps.
If that was enough to pique your interest, perhaps you're wondering how best to imbibe all ten "Sniper" movies and catch up with the best franchise you've never heard of. Well, don't worry because, much like Berenger's elite sniper, we've got you covered.
The correct order to watch the Sniper movies
The sheer number of "Sniper" installments may seem overwhelming at first, and, to be honest, they kind of are. The series has shifted tone dramatically throughout its 30-year run, delivering lighthearted comedic entries alongside outlandish Anime-inspired action-fests and gritty action thrillers. As such, the franchise isn't going to be hitting any best action movie lists. But the good news is you can watch all the films in their production order and they'll make some sort of sense. That's right, there are no prequels or anything like that to further muddy up the running order.
With that in mind, here's the full production order of "Sniper" movies. It should be noted that 2011's "Sniper: Reloaded" was somewhat of a soft reboot for the series. This, in and of itself doesn't interfere with the viewing order, but is worth bearing in mind when embarking on your rewatch mission, if only to save yourself some confusion going from "Sniper 3" to "Reloaded."
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"Sniper" (1993)
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"Sniper 2" (2002)
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"Sniper 3" (2004)
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"Sniper: Reloaded" (2011)
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"Sniper: Legacy" (2014)
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"Sniper: Ghost Shooter" (2016)
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"Sniper: Ultimate Kill" (2017)
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"Sniper: Assassin's End" (2020)
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"Sniper: Rogue Mission" (2022)
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"Sniper: G.R.I.T. – Global Response & Intelligence Team" (2023)
Although Tom Berenger stepped away from the franchise after "Sniper 3," he then returned in multiple films and has appeared in all but three entries in the series. So if you really want to understand the films, it's best to start at the beginning and binge your way through.
Sniper: Altered Rewatch
Are the "Sniper" movies the most complex, lore-dense films in existence? Absolutely not. Do they require you to pay close attention to get the most out of them? Not really. But there definitely is a through-line with the series, so watching all the films in order is the best bet for those dedicated to understanding the world of the franchise in its entirety.
That said, you can probably get away with starting at "Sniper: Reloaded" and watching through the Chad Michael Collins era. Berenger returned to the series in 2014's "Sniper: Legacy," but the story is pretty self-explanatory. Failing that, the original "Sniper" is the only film to receive a theatrical release and the only one with any critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes — though it did receive a disappointing 38 percent. So, if you want to revisit a kind of okay '90s actioner that Roger Ebert quite liked and leave it at that, we wouldn't blame you.
Otherwise, it really is a case of watching through all ten films in the order they were released. Which, if you're a fan of lesser-known action films or, y'know, a dad, might be a fun little exercise.