Sniper: The White Raven

A noble attempt to honour the resilience of Ukrainians and the courage of ordinary people like Voronin, fighting for freedom.

It's well-made, a real explosion of a war movie -- but it's nationalistic.

Its release arrives as troubling reports on Russia’s invasion of the country break almost daily, and the movie’s themes of nationalism, rage and resilience resonate even as its glassiness holds viewers at a distance.

Far more patriotic war movie than existential exegesis, it captures the determination and spirit that has given Ukrainian soldiers — and thereby the country itself — a fighting chance.

The formulaic action movie set-up and payoff to the Ukrainian war drama “Sniper: The White Raven” feel like they belong to a completely different movie than the rest of this arty character study.

If there’s one takeaway outside of solid acting and a satisfying conclusion, it’s that the process of becoming a sniper and how one lives and operates is properly explored here.

Avoids touching upon human complexity: classic war movies know how to portray nuanced characters behind the enemy lines, even within the Nazis; but here, that just doesn't happen. [Full review in Spanish]

Sniper: The White Raven, which takes place during Ukraine's Donbas conflict, is one of the dullest war movies you'll ever see. The movie becomes cliché-ridden, with acting as hollow and action as trite as anything in a shoddy video game.

Good intentions are not enough as they say. Here, the story is so predictable that you can call every scene before it happens.

Best to be neither seen nor heard