Seeing one of the best sniper movies isn’t something you move on from in a haste. Apart from the thrill, blood rush that comes with a bullet hitting its target, and what have you, you will ultimately be left with a desire for more.
From Targets (1968) to Two-Minute Warning (1976), Straight Shooter (1999), The Marksman (2005), and Smokin’ Aces (2006), there is an abundance of fine sniper movies out there. But then, you have had an incomplete experience of this kind of films if you haven’t watched the ones here. For us and many movie lovers, they are the best sniper movies around.
What Are The Best Sniper Movies?
1. Elephant White
Elephant White is one of those movies that didn’t find much favor with the critics but absolutely killed with film lovers and a niche audience. It’s an entertaining action-drama about a wealthy businessman who seeks vengeance against a group of Thai traders who killed his daughter. He hires a deadly sniper to help him get his pound of flesh and what unfolds is a beautiful bullet-ridden plot that’s artfully executed.
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2. Jarhead
Jarhead is not your typical war or sniper movie. It follows Anthony Swofford, a young man who unwittingly enlists to fight in the Gulf War rather than go to college. He joins the marines and ends up in the sniper unit. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t enjoy much action until he is sent on a mission to assassinate a high-ranking Iraqi official, but the mission gets called off at the last minute leaving things upended. There’s a strong moral contention running through the film.
3. Blue Caprice
This movie is based on true events, the Beltway sniper attacks of 2002 which left ten people dead. It follows Lee Malvo and John Allen Muhammad in the moments before their fatal attacks. It explores their thought processes, what inspires them to commit these terrible and seemingly random acts of violence. Unlike most of its counterparts, Blue Caprice doesn’t glorify sniper killings but attempts to portray just how much havoc can be wreaked when deadly weapons find their way into the wrong hands. Without a doubt, it’s one of the best sniper movies of all time.
4. Wanted
It is difficult to count the best sniper movies and leave Wanted out; it is a beautiful story of revenge and deceit. The protagonist, Wesley Gibson learns from a man called Solan that his father was killed. He promptly begins training as a sniper in order to go after his father’s alleged killer Cross, but soon discovers Cross is his real father. So he sets in motion a plot to assassinate Sloan for his deception and other atrocities.
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5. Day of the Jackal
What do you get when you have a brilliant and calculating assassin, throw in a couple of custom built rifles, and a desire to eliminate a high ranking official? The Day of the Jackal. The movie is beautifully told and written, chronicling the Jackal’s plan to assassinate the French president. The threat of menace looms over the entire movie, following the viewer from scene to scene.
6. Shooter
Although this movie perpetuates virtually every single action film stereotype, it is still a joy to watch. It tells the story of a former marksman who is tracked down and offered one last job, but of course, everything that can go wrong, does. There’s a lot of excellent sniper shots, heads exploding, and thrilling action that make it really exciting to watch. Hardly would anyone contend that it isn’t one of the best sniper movies to watch.
7. Phone Booth
This movie is one of a kind because the entire story unravels in one place. A publicist named Stu is trapped in a phone booth by a mysterious sniper whom he cannot see. The sniper taunts him via the telephone, and Stu is filled with complete dread and terror. The action in the phone booth is fast-paced and gripping all the way to the end.
8. Two Minute Warning
Even as the plot of Two Minute Warning is a simple one, this thriller is one of the best sniper movies you’ll ever see. It follows a sniper who intends to randomly shoot and kill viewers and players in a packed football stadium, but the police are in a race to stop him before his moment of terror begins.
9. Jack Reacher
This live-action rendition of the novel One Shot follows the eponymous character Jack Reacher, a former military criminal investigator trying to unravel the curious case of an ex-sniper in the United States Army who went on a rogue killing spree that resulted in the deaths of five civilians. Things take an interesting turn after he discovers that the sniper might not be responsible for the killings after all as evidence starts to point towards a Russian mob.
10. Sniper
Like the title implies, the movie tells the story of skilled and secret soldiers who make their way through the most demanding environments and stay there for days, no matter how uncomfortable it gets. The movie lets us into the minds of snipers, fostering some kind of explanation for the famed lone gunman and the damage he can yield.
11. Saving Private Ryan
While this World War II classic is not technically a sniper movie, it still features some of the best sniper action in movie history. There is a scene in which Jackson, the U.S squad’s sharpshooter has to try and take out a hidden German sniper who just shot one of his teammates from a low vantage point. What he manages to do with the shot he gets is remarkable and frankly iconic.
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12. Enemy at the Gates
Last on our list of best sniper movies, Enemy at the Gates is a movie about the deadly and arduous Battle of Stalingrad, and the spectacular fight that went down between Erwin König, a German sniper, and his Soviet counterpart Vassili Zaitsev. The two men hide in the ruins of the destroyed city attempting to draw the other sniper out while killing enemy soldiers from almost impossible distances.
