There's been an arsenal of controversy stirred around this film, but if we care about how it stacks up as a war film, it reaffirms his talent for the genre that he displayed with Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, while taking a position as a character study around Kyle himself. Cooper displays an impressive subtlety in playing a character who masks his emotions well, without losing the emotion entirely, and subtle cues of soundtrack and directing place you firmly in Kyle's mind. It's the small scenes that anchor you the most: Kyle pleading one-sidedly to a child holding an RPG-7 was flooring. But the movie excels in more than just the acting, as it is Eastwood's adept camera work that seals the deal throughout. There are a couple of blemishes in special effects, poorly-executed CGI in a couple of flyover scenes and a fairly obvious rubber baby being the standout examples, but they are a scarce distraction in a movie that is otherwise executed beautifully throughout.
Shout by A Cloudspotter, SupineBlockedParentSpoilers2015-10-10T21:01:17Z
There's been an arsenal of controversy stirred around this film, but if we care about how it stacks up as a war film, it reaffirms his talent for the genre that he displayed with Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, while taking a position as a character study around Kyle himself. Cooper displays an impressive subtlety in playing a character who masks his emotions well, without losing the emotion entirely, and subtle cues of soundtrack and directing place you firmly in Kyle's mind. It's the small scenes that anchor you the most: Kyle pleading one-sidedly to a child holding an RPG-7 was flooring. But the movie excels in more than just the acting, as it is Eastwood's adept camera work that seals the deal throughout. There are a couple of blemishes in special effects, poorly-executed CGI in a couple of flyover scenes and a fairly obvious rubber baby being the standout examples, but they are a scarce distraction in a movie that is otherwise executed beautifully throughout.