American Sniper

Let me begin by saying I love US middle-eastern war films. I recognise the complexity of the situation that led to the placement of US troops in Iraq, but regardless I thoroughly enjoy the modern war setting combined with middle-eastern cultural elements. Green Zone, The Kingdom, Black Hawk Down, Mosul - all movies that I rate exceptionally highly.

With that out of the way, it couldn't be clearer that American Sniper is painting the most simplistically pro-US message possible. There's no depth to the storytelling past 'we good guys, they bad guys' (several lines in the movie are VERY close to straight up quoting that). My complaint isn't the film's pro-US angle (Black Hawk Down was also pretty pro-US) but the utter simplicity of American sniper's implementation of the viewpoint makes it predictable and mundane. It's like a 12 year old's moral view throughout, and all the potentially great moral conundrums throughout the film are lost because of it.

Good work on Bradley Cooper's part as well, putting on the weight and getting into character to play Chris Kyle, a sniper for the navy seals who did four tours in Iraq protecting his fellow troops by being a legendary shot. the Movie explores Kyle having to deal with a rival sniper who was keeping him from doing the job of protecting his troops and having to deal with coming home to his wife and kids feeling that his mission was incomplete.

Old man Eastwood mixed action, drama and humor in a way only a legendary filmmaker could put together. The man still has the ability to tell a compelling story.

Bradley Cooper showed a range that is more Oscar worthy than what he did in Silver Linings Playbook.

It was nothing but enjoyable from beginning to end. Worth watching.

it was extremely 'even'. nothing seemed overplayed. well balanced storytelling. as someone else wrote, best war movie i've seen in years...and while we're at it, best clint movie in a few outings, as well... i agree that the ending is a bit sudden. but there was no reason to drag it out, either... i don't feel it lingered on any one dynamic of what would be expected from a film like this...not TOO much violence or proselytizing/flag waving or lingering on casualty horrors... it doesn't, on the other hand, turn away from any of the ugliness, either... i thought bradley cooper did a great job in the role. the changes he gradually instilled into the character were subtle but present. it's as well done a war movie as i'll ever need.

Clint did this instead of Spielberg apparently.

Compared to Clints' superb Gran Torino why the horrible empty feeling after watching this.

Film wise great set pieces, sound and action. Also graphically depicts from a single sided point of view anyway, the horror of modern warfare.

Directorially it has plenty of set piece sequences seemingly from video games such as endless spawning enemies to be machine gunned / sniped from various angles.

Cooper & Miller do their bits admirably as cut scene fillers but did we care? Iraqis were "savages". 150 confirmed deaths presented as a game score. Funnily enough the most prominent death: that of our protagonist gets no time at all.

This could / should have been the Deer Hunter of our time but didn't even deliver the Post Traumatic War syndrome message meaningfully.

Chris Kyle was the most lethal sniper in the U.S. military history. He apparently killed more than 250 Iraqui insurgents, though the Pentagon only credited him around 160, which nevertheless made him a legend of the U.S. Army. I started to read the book last year but stopped doing it since I first heard about the project. Eastwood and Cooper on board, that is promising. And of course they both deliver, and "American Sniper" is dense and blunt, quite like a shot.

Cooper plays Chris Kyle, the ultimate "American": religious, patriot and uncompromising in his convictions. He is a noble and honest man regarding every aspect of his life, and that is something to respect. Cooper already played a soldier in "The A-Team" remake (Joe Carnahan, 2010), and it seems that he showed great abilities in the military stunts, and showed interest in the work of the army. He bulked up 20 kg and went through a really tough training, including Navy SEAL sniper sessions. Sienna Miller plays his wife Taya, who suffered the effects of war on his husband, despite his strong belief and determination. Her unconditional love was a massive support for Kyle.

Eastwood has made an intense and heartfelt film, one of his trademarks, absent shows and unnecessary politics or philosophy. This is obviously the classic "American" patriotic film, but it differs from others in the approach of the man, who is an instrument to a purpose, yet a human being totally aware of what he does.

Bottom line, this film is almost perfect in many aspects, and the only thing that does not hook me is how much it reminds me to "The Hurt Locker" (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008). That was way more focused on the adrenaline addiction the main character had, but the behavior of both characters after tours seemed to me pretty alike.