Pocketman and Cargoboy both learn a dark secret that will change the future of Section 62. The Viper Sniper makes his move and proves to be more than the young agents can handle. This is Clay Moffatt’s Wrath of the Viper Sniper.

Director Clay Moffatt has been featured a few times amongst our Screen Critix reviews; one of his last films we reviewed was Pocketman and Cargo Boy – a myriad of the superhero and espionage genres. Having proved quite popular, the Pocketman series is now onto its second sequel and that is what we have here with Wrath Of The Viper Sniper: Pocketman and Cargo Boy 3.
Again, like the previous installments, Wrath of the Viper Sniper has been made with its tongue firmly in its cheek, and Moffatt shows once again how to achieve interesting shots and decent special effects with little-to-no budget. What we end up with is an entertaining take on time travel and more than a few nods to Jean Claude Van Damme’s 90’s classic Timecop, and Rian Johnson’s Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt vehicle Looper.

Beginning with Pocketman and Cargo Boy in pursuit of the despicably evil and Harley Quinn-esque Queen Clown, the film opens with a well-choreographed and fun fight scene involving kung fu and juggling balls. Then we are taken back to Section 62 – the Agents of Shield style training academy and introduced to regular cast members, (the athletic Natalie Maher) Diane Hill and her partner Jayden Hill (played by Ben Vasquez). As the story progresses, we learn an interesting yet life-altering fact about Viper Sniper, but by then on we are fully on board for an enjoyable, if completely implausible, ride. The cast all seem to be relishing their roles with performances ranging from particularly good to what can only be referred to as enthusiastic, but the special effects are very well done and manage to hide the technical issues of which there are a few. The lighting is somewhat slipshod with scenes that take place at night being overly dark, while the sound has a couple of problems and causes some distortion between the live recorded dialogue and that which has been looped in post-production.

Moffatt’s screenplay is the best thing about the movie and remains pretty solid throughout the 65-minute runtime. We begin with generic expectations, but Moffatt’s skill actually manages to confound them, the key to this is in his writing. Wrath of the Viper weaves between past and present in a way that gives Moffatt and his actors opportunities to create an interesting narrative. He gives us a neat sci-fi story and, although he provides us with a lot of exposition, there are enough ideas involved in the process that tells us he has thought about his story.
Much like other time travel movies, Wrath of the Viper Sniper runs into trouble in the final scenes when impossibilities pile up. But all that said, we get a sweet conclusion that wipes out the story’s contradictions quite neatly and sidesteps the paradoxes by not really thinking about them. It also gives the filmmaker scope for another sequel, but it is such an obvious ploy that you just have to smile at the temerity of Moffatt’s screenplay. Wrath of The Viper Sniper is cheesy sci-fi fodder that should be enjoyed with an open mind and more than a few drinks.
Leave a Reply