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''Sniper'' is a movie franchise that began as a 1993 action thriller directed by Luis Llosa and starring Creator/TomBerenger as Master Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Beckett, a seasoned sniper whose missions have made him spent more time in the jungle than just about everyone else in his field. CIA agent Richard Miller (Creator/BillyZane) is assigned to take out a Panamian insurgent leader with Beckett's aid, but his inexperience causes friction with Beckett, while they're also being pursued by another sniper who killed Beckett's previous partner.

It was followed by ''many'' direct-to-DVD sequels. As of the fourth movie, Thomas Beckett's son Brandon (played by Chad Michael Collins) has taken over as the main character of the series, although Thomas himself continues to appear in subsequent films in a supporting role (except for ''Reloaded'', ''Ghost Shooter'', ''Rogue Mission'', and ''G.R.I.T.''). The full franchise consists of the following:

#''Sniper'' (1993)
#''Sniper 2'' (2002)
#''Sniper 3'' (2004)
#''Sniper: [[StoppedNumberingSequels Reloaded]]'' (2011)
#''Sniper: Legacy'' (2014)
#''Sniper: Ghost Shooter'' (2016)
#''Sniper: Ultimate Kill'' (2017)
#''Sniper: Assassin's End'' (2020)
#''Sniper: Rogue Mission'' (2022)
#''Sniper: G.R.I.T.'' (2023)

No relation to ''Film/TheSniper'', a 1952 FilmNoir.

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!!This film provides examples of:
* AnimatedCreditsOpening: ''Rogue Mission'' has this for its opening credits.
* ArtisticLicenseMilitary:
** None of the scope reticles resemble anything ever attached to the M40, SR9TC, or Dragunov-style rifles.
** The Marines wear ERDL Brown-dominant woodland, instead of the then-common M81 Woodland Battle Dress Uniform. (introduced almost 12 years prior to filming, though it's possible that Beckett just kept a pair in serviceable condition, given his likely two decades or more of service)
** Beckett wears a chest patch, when traditionally Marines don't wear unit patches.
** Possibly the most egregious violation, though, is the continual calling of Master Gunnery Sergeant Beckett as "gunny," which is traditionally a term for a Gunnery Sergeant (E7) rather than the much more senior Master Gunnery Sergeant (E9) which is traditionally referred to in slang by those friendly with or close in rank to the Master Gunnery Sergeant as "master guns," if referred to in slang at all. This is finally corrected in the ending of ''Assassin's End'' when Brandon calls his dad "guns."
** Beckett enters the recreation room on base with his cover (hat) on. This is a big no-no for any Marine.
** Beckett wears his insignia on his cover, which is generally an Army practice, rather than a Marine one. Realistically, in-garrison he would wear his insignia on his BDU shirt lapels, and then in a tactical environment would remove them so as not to attract sniper fire for being a senior Non-Commissioned Officer. The fact that he wears any insignia at all is unrealistic, as oftentimes those tasked with special missions will "sterilize" their uniforms to remove any indication of military affiliation.
* BadassFamily: The Becketts, consisting of a father and son who are both snipers.
* BigGood: From ''Legacy'' onward, Gabriel Stone, a.k.a. the Colonel, played by Creator/DennisHaysbert.
* BoxedCrook: At the end of ''Assassin's End'', [[spoiler: Lady Death is recruited by Agent Zero to work for the CIA in exchange for avoiding extradition to Japan for all the murders she's committed.]]
* TheBusCameBack: After his debut in the first movie, Richard Miller's next outing in the series wouldn't be until the fourth movie 18 years later.
** After ''Ghost Shooter'', the Colonel is absent from both ''Ultimate Kill'' and ''Assassin's End'' until he returns in the flesh in ''Rogue Mission''.
* CallBack: Brandon's conversations with Miller or his father will occasionally allude to events that occur in the first film. For example, Brandon learns of Miller's "one shot two kills" exploits during Reloaded.
* ChildhoodMemoryDemolitionTeam: At one point, the title character is told that the old fishing hole in his hometown is now a parking lot.
* ColdSniper: Thomas Beckett is the stoic loner type. He's shunned on the base he's stationed at both for being a sniper among regular Marines, and for being rather notorious for losing partners in the field.
* DamselInDistress: The start of ''G.R.I.T.'' shows Lady Death has been captured by terrorists, with the movie's opening act being to rescue her and eliminate all the terrorist leaders at the same time.
* DarkActionGirl: Yuki Mifune alias "Lady Death" in ''Assassin's End'', played by former Music/AKB48 idol Sayaka Akimoto.
* FakeUltimateHero: Miller is unable to take a shot when his helicopter is attacked by Panamanian rebels, but the dying door gunner accidentally shoots a rebel from an incredible distance. Miller is credited for the kill and gains an undeserved reputation as an expert marksman. In fact he's very much out of his element in the Panamanian jungle because he only has experience with urban SWAT.
* {{Fingore}}: Beckett [[ColdBloodedTorture loses his trigger finger]] to RazorFloss.
* FunWithAcronyms: ''G.R.I.T.'' stands for Global Response & Intelligence Team.
* HandicappedBadass: Beckett needs some time to adjust to pull his gun's trigger with his middle finger at the climax of the first film, but once he does he goes on to continue to perform laser-straight sniper shots for the rest of the series.
* JustTrainWrong: The rail insertion scene is shot in northern Queensland, although set in Central America. You can't hide this when your biggest clue is a train which still has Queensland Government Railways markings, when QGR has always been traditionally a Cape gauge (3'6") system, by sticking up plaques proclaiming it as the property of the Panama Railroad, which was, at time of filming, built to Old Russian (5') gauge, and therefore unlikely to have bought used QGR vehicles to re-gauge.
* LighterAndSofter: The movies directed by Oliver Thompson are this compared to the rest of the franchise, going for a more Creator/GuyRitchie feel. ''Rogue Mission'' is a particularly jarring example despite featuring HumanTraffickers as the main antagonists. ''G.R.I.T.'' dials it back a bit, as it still features plenty of sarcastic humor but does a better job of segregating its comedic scenes from its action scenes.
* LivingLegend: Beckett and every single major villain that appears in the series, most of the latter having a RedBaron nickname.
* NaiveNewcomer: Miller. Even though he's an experienced marksman he has never killed anyone and has no experience in the jungle. Beckett has to explain a lot of things to him, and by extension to the audience. Brandon also goes through this in ''Reloaded'', having an initial disdain for the craft of sniping and undergoes CharacterDevelopment to become a proficient sniper.
* NamedAfterSomeoneFamous: Lady Death's real name, Yuki Mifune, with her surname being that of the famous actor Creator/ToshiroMifune.
* OneHitPolykill: Miller does this after Beckett, while being tortured, sees him looking through his scope and mouths to him to take "One shot, two kills." [[spoiler: Beckett survives]]. By ''Reloaded'', Miller successfully pulls this off with a .50 caliber sniper rifle, with Beckett's son Brandon aware of this feat. In ''G.R.I.T.,'' Beckett assassinates two leaders of the Bubalo terror group with a single bullet through their hearts when they are lined up in front of each other.
* OrificeInvasion: Beckett warns his partner not to urinate as they are wading through a waist-deep river, because small organisms will enter his urethra and dig in with spikes.
* ScopeSnipe:
** In the original movie, the protagonist is being stalked through the Panamanian jungle by a former student, now working for the rebels. After leaving his sleeping partner as bait, he puts a bullet through his opponent's Draganov rifle scope.
** It happens in each of the sequels as well, possibly making the titular sniper the only marksman in reality ''or'' fiction with three scope snipes. This is especially ridiculous in the third movie, where he didn't have time to do a carefully aimed shot against the sniper attacking him while he tried to snipe someone else.
* SniperDuel: Happens at least once in each of the first three movies. ''Assassin's End'' takes it up to eleven with a three-man duel with both Thomas and Brandon vs. Lady Death.
* SpinOffSpring: Every movie set after ''Sniper 3'' focuses on Brandon Beckett's adventures.
* StrangerInAFamiliarLand: Beckett tells Miller that he's going to retire from the Marine Corps and return home, then details all the things he's going to do once he gets there only to find out from Miller that most of the places he talks about don't exist any more.
* TerroristsWithoutACause: The Bubalo terror group in ''G.R.I.T.'' is a cult of personality that treats its leader like a living god and has subverted and corrupted the government of UsefulNotes/{{Malta}}, turning the city-state into its private island, but their motivations for causing destruction across the globe are never discussed.
* TookALevelInBadass: After spending much of the film as a FakeUltimateHero, Miller eventually rises to the occasion near the end when he goes back to save Beckett. Brandon earns his badass journey in Reloaded having started out as a rookie infantry Marine learning how to embrace being a sniper.
* TortureTechnician: "El Cirujano" ([[RedBaron The Surgeon]]), a secondary target on Beckett and Miller's mission, is an ex-CIA spook who tortures prisoners for the Panamian insurgents. After Beckett is captured later in the film, the Surgeon applies his skills on his new captive.
* TragicDream: Beckett has a dream of retiring from the Marine Corps and returning to his hometown and settling down to a quiet life where he can spend his days fishing in his favorite lake. When he tells his new partner about this, he is informed that the partner knows the area and it has seen major development in the years since Beckett left and is no longer an idyllic small town. Most poignantly the lake has been filled in and is now a parking lot. Beckett does not take this revelation well and it is one of the factors that leads to the two men turning on each other during a mission.
* VigilanteExecution: [[spoiler:At the end of ''G.R.I.T.'', the team captures Soshi Mifune, Lady Death's father, alive, but are worried that he might walk on a technicality. As they're watching the news of his trial, [[BoomHeadshot he is suddenly shot in the head]] by none other than Lady Death, ending the film.]]

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