5 reasons you might like Sniper: No Nation (2026)
When I was 12 years old, I rented Sniper from the local video store and I loved it, but I never expected that it would turn into a series, and I certainly never expected that series to be going strong in 2026.
I’m Jason Kleeberg and this is Force Five, and today I’m going to give you five reasons you might want to watch Sniper: No Nation.
Reason number 5 is one I already alluded to, but this is the twelfth film in the Sniper franchise, and that alone is wild. Very few franchises make it this far, especially without massive budgets, theatrical releases, or rebooting completely.
But here’s the thing about the Sniper series from the films I’ve seen - these sequels don’t feel like phoned in direct to video films that are just using the name recognition to trick unsuspecting grandpas at the one Red Box still standing outside their neighborhood grocery store. Instead, there’s an effort to evolve the story, to grow the characters and to really construct some well made action scenes. More on that in a bit.
Reason number 4? The cinematography. This movie looks great, way better than most modern direct to video films do, and obviously most of that has to be credited to the cinematographer Brendan Barnes. The camera moves with purpose, the action is clearly shot and while most of the film takes place indoors or in tighter locations, it still looks good. It doesn’t hurt that the director, Trevor Calverley, was the cinematographer on the previous Sniper film, Sniper: The Last Stand.
Reason number 3? The film has some really cool bad guys. The armor they wear is really badass, it reminds me of G.I. Joe and Cobra figures I used to play with when I was little. The aesthetic when they don their helmets is really cool. Immediately they’re shown as being formidable, easily dispatching of several armed soldiers and things obviously ramp up from there when they take several of the GRIT members hostage. They’re only one side of a two sided evil coin, however, and the political aspect featuring the Prime Minister is far less interesting. That being said, they’re not in the movie that much.
At number 2 I’ve got Tom Berenger. I have always liked Tom Berenger on screen and he’s had some really great roles over the years. I’ve loved him as Barnes in Platoon, Jake Taylor in Major League, Shale in one of my favorite late 90’s films, The Substitute, I’ve basically liked him any time I’ve seen him on screen, even in the sequel to Turbulence, Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying. Also, if you haven’t seen the 1977 film Looking for Mr. Goodbar, do yourself a favor and check it out, he’s good in that too. Now he looks like the kind of guy who kicks his boots off, grabs a Coors and falls asleep to Yellowstone reruns in his easy chair - actually, the exact target audience for this movie, but don’t let that fool you. He’s still being Tom Bereneger and he even gets to be a part of the action, this isn’t a Seagal, sit in a chair and act like you’re acting kind of situation.
And the number one reason you might want to check out Sniper: No Nation is because the action scenes are really rad. It starts off a little small scale in my opinion but as the film goes on the action set pieces get bigger and bigger until a big action scene underneath a freeway overpass. Fight scenes feel like they have impact, there are plenty of explosions and sniper kills, and it doesn’t skimp on the gore either. There are several very rewarding moments for action fans here - if you’re interested in seeing some of the deaths, I’ve got a Top 5 Kills in Sniper: No Nation video out as well.
Sniper: No Nation knows the assignment and executes that assignment in spades. If you’re looking to fill an hour and a half with some military entertainment with some crackling action scenes and some fun characters, give this one a shot.
What did you think of this film? And is there a different reason you think people would want to check out Sniper: No Nation? Let me know in the comments below or email me at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com.
