One shot, one kill, one note: "Sniper"

So there was this guy Pete in my college fraternity, and he had some bizarre fascination with this movie "Sniper." Not sure if it was because he liked guns, or was just something of a putz in general. All I remember is that he somehow got hold of a little "Sniper" sign that was hanging above the theater door, and he proceeded to post that above his own door. Man, that was cool.

Taking a break from my nice little Saturday at Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond, I stumbled across Sniper on one of the HBO channels. Not sure which one ... HBO ... HBO2 ... HBO with Lime ... Anyway, I knew it was mindless, and I was curious as to whether I might be pleasantly surprised.

I wasn't. Hey, it wasn't godawful, not with the always game Tom Berenger in the lead. I have absolutely no idea what he's doing these days -- let's check ... hey, "Sniper 2" and "Sniper 3!" Still, you have to love him not only in "Platoon" andf "Major League" but also "The Substitute," which for some reason I always watch when I come across it while being careless with the remote. Clearly I need help.

Berenger plays a Marine sniper in Panama who gets paired with greenhorn Billy Zane, a few years before the latter donned a purple bodysuit in "The Phantom" and menaced Leo and Kate in "Titanic." Together they slog through the jungle on a mission to take out a few druglord/revolutionary types. To be honest, I don't remember exactly what made the bad guys so bad, since character development isn't too high on this movie's priority list.

Other than Berenger's tough-guy act, the only thing of note is the bullet-cam employed when the snipers fire at their targets. But it's hard to take that seriously considering the same vantage point in other movies, i.e. "Army of Darkness," is played for humor. And hell, these days we follow bullets into bodies every week on "CSI."