Under Fire (2025)

I love the premise of the fox hunt movie, a sub-genre where the protagonists are the ones trapped under the sniper’s scope rather than being the marksman. It’s a compelling branch of the claustrophobic action film that often thrives on a limited budget, producing genuinely tense thrillers. Films like Naked Fear and Blooded stand out as excellent examples. The new entry, Under Fire, attempts to inject a bit of gloss, humor, and tension into this familiar format. Does it succeed? It’s a mixed bag, as the film does just as many things right as it does wrong.

It’s worth noting that the film’s two leads, Abbott and Griff, have starred in a previous movie together. I’m unsure if they have a significant fan following outside of these projects to warrant a reteaming, or if their initial pairing simply had a certain on-screen magic. While I haven’t yet seen their previous film, Aftermath—which looks like a “Die Hard on a bridge” scenario—it’s now in my queue.

In Under Fire, their chemistry is only adequate. They are hardly in the league of classic pairings like Gibson and Glover, Ford and Connery, or Redford and Newman. They share a connection, but nothing particularly memorable or outstanding drives their dynamic.

The film’s plot is refreshingly simple, though a major twist is surprisingly featured in the trailer (which I will still label a spoiler here). Abbott is an undercover DEA agent using Griff to get close to a drug lord operating near the Mexican border. The pair soon find themselves stranded in a remote desert area, surrounded by hills, as a hired sniper begins picking off everyone involved in the deal. They survive by sheltering behind a car, and much of the runtime is dedicated to them hatching various escape plans.

*SPOILER* Griff eventually drops a bombshell, revealing he is also an undercover FBI agent and that the corruption goes all the way to the top. This particular plot device, however, feels like a simplistic and somewhat childish attempt to liven up the stakes. *SPOILER ENDS*

The script is decent overall, but it contains a couple of distracting moments. Early on, Griff drops a line from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. After racking your brain to place the quote, you’re left questioning whether it was an intentional reference or simply reused due to a lack of a more unique line.

There is a consistent attempt to establish a dynamic of continually quarreling heroes who exchange banter, but it never feels natural. While it reminds me of the cringe-inducing dynamic in Bulletproof with Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler, Under Fire manages a far less frustrating relationship between its leads. However, the film takes some major liberties to keep the story moving. I’m sure military enthusiasts will have a field day commenting on the sniper’s equipment and its unlikely inability to pierce a small plane’s fuselage.

One of the more dated staples of cheaper action movies—the continued reliance on slow motion—is prominent here. Many of the early slow-motion sequences showcase serviceable, but not spectacular, effects, whether it’s a bullet leaving a rifle or connecting with a torso. Slowing the footage down allows the audience to examine the quality of the effect, which is particularly noticeable on the 4K version available on Amazon. It’s a tiny quibble, but one that becomes obvious given how frequently the technique is used.

The trailer was good enough to make me seek out Under Fire, and I had a good time watching it. I wasn’t expecting greatness, but it is noticeably better than many other action movies of its ilk. The current market for new action films arriving directly on DVD and streaming is quite packed, and while Under Fire won’t blow the doors off, it provides a solid dose of entertainment for its duration.

Oh and there is a little bit extra during the end credits…

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