Introduction

Sniper 3 is a 2004 American action adventure direct-to-video film starring Tom Berenger, Byron Mann, Denis Arndt, and John Doman.

It was directed by P.J. Pesce, and is the third instalment in the Sniper film series.

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Outline

Sniper Thomas Beckett (Tom Berenger) is hired by NSA officials William Avery (Denis Arndt) and Richard Addis (William Duffy) to perform a covert operation to eliminate a suspected terrorist kingpin in the People’s Republic of Vietnam who was providing support for Jemaah Islamiyah.

The kingpin turns out to be a thought dead friend and war buddy of Beckett’s, Paul Finnegan (John Doman). Because he views the mission as a very personal one, Beckett demands that he conduct the mission alone, without a spotter. The real purpose of the mission turns out to be something other than what Beckett was told.

Beckett begins to suspect his employers’ motives are not what they claimed after he is counter sniped at after attempting to assassinate Finnegan. Beckett undertakes a mission of his own to get to the bottom of the mystery, involving escaping from capture by Vietnamese police, working with an NSA recruited Vietnamese police operative Quan (Byron Mann) and using his military training to search for Finnegan.

By and large, the plot focuses on governmental betrayal and resultant feelings of disillusion.

Cast

• Tom Berenger as Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett.
• Denis Arndt as William Avery.
• Byron Mann as Quan.
• John Doman as Paul Finnegan.
• Troy Winbush as Captain Laraby.
• Jeannetta Arnette as Sydney.
• William Duffy as Richard Addis.
• Dom Hetrakul as Chu.

Trivia

• The movie on Beckett’s motel TV is The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).
• The two MP’s who appear early on the film are named Mangold and Pennycate.
  • This is an homage to Tom Mangold and John Pennycate, authors of the book ‘The Tunnels of Cu Chi’, which was an instrumental reference source for the screenplay.
• After Thomas Beckett has arrived with a Thai Airways plane in Ho Chi Min City he drives with a taxi into town. There are shop signs and ads visible, however in Thai language and not in Vietnamese.
  • The film was shot in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Sniper Series

You can find a full index and overview of the Sniper film series here.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s): P.J. Pesce.
• Producer(s): J.S. Cardone, Carol Kottenbrook, Scott Einbinder, Trish Moore-Berenger, and Rick Nathanson.
• Writer(s): J.S. Cardone and Ross Helford.
• Music: Tm Jones.
• Cinematography: Michael Bonvillain.
• Editor(s): Amanda I. Kirpaul.
• Production: Destination Films and Sandstorm Films.
• Distributor(s): Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.
• Release Date: 28 September 2004.
• Running Time: 90 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.