i don't want to get into the politics of war or the right or wrongs of this, but i think this was a really bad movie regardless
for starters, i don't think being 'the most lethal sniper in us history' is something to brag about - so that makes my stance on that clear. but aside from that point, this movie did not have a point. at the end of the movie, it should be pretty easy to summarize what it was about. the only exception to this would be in something like an 'auto-biography,' but even when translating that to film, the director often has to make a choice and decide on one theme that's going to be the main theme and 'lesson' or 'takeaway point' of the movie. this movie did not have that.
i couldn't tell if this was supposed to be a political commentary about war, the civilian casualties of war, effects of ptsd on soldiers, the struggles a family of a soldier has to face? there wasn't one thing that stood out as the 'main statement' of the show and that made the storytelling weak.
it seemed more like a glorification of being a sniper as a career choice in spite of all of the death and ptsd that it resulted in and that doesn't make for a strong movie or storytelling, nor does it really give the actors a clear feeling they should be trying to capture.
Chris Kyle, sniper extraordinaire and lightning rod for many reasons (some of which are entirely of his own creation), gets the close-up treatment in an appropriately controversial film.
Much of the popular criticism centers around Kyle's casual, almost matter-of-fact tone about the inevitability of American military involvement in Iraq and a simplistic, one-dimensional perspective on the native combatants. From what I gather, much of that was toned down from his autobiography, on which this was based, and on the screen it's somewhat more excusable. In an industry that's already seen the likes of Rambo and Commando, it's hardly the first to commit that sin, though it does remove us a bit from reality and make the production's more grounded, thoughtful aspects a bit tougher to swallow.
American Sniper's battle scenes are a major strength, intense and morally-exhausting, but occasionally they drift into idol worship and stretch to assure the audience that his strikes were justified. Kyle's descent from suave, charismatic bar-denizen to haunted, self-righteous battlefield legend is a difficult but effective journey, well-managed by Bradley Cooper in the leading role. The frequent hints and nudges about his struggles with PTSD on the homefront are nicely done, too, right up until the closing moments when the film spontaneously lurches into a tacky fairy-tale ending that felt so jarring and undeserved, I wondered if it might be a dream sequence.
It's better than I feared it might be, but asks many more questions than it answers and quite often falls short of delivering on teased potential. As snapshots of a superstar's life behind the scope, and behind the battle lines, it works. As a finished thought on the man himself? Not quite.
I was not impressed with the movie, I felt it was a one sided tale told ignoring so many variables. Running for 132 minutes which is a little over two hours, I felt that the movie lagged in some parts. I was somehow taken aback, shocked, and a bit heartbroken about the ending.
I was, on the other side impressed by the intense performance of Cooper who in my humble opinion keeps upping his performance one movie at a time.
I did feel that the movie missed the realistic feel of being at war, It portrayed a single point of view which advocated why America needed to go to war.
I also felt that it is heavily promoting violence from the very first lines of the movie even before it turned into a war movie.. I was not impressed by the story line and I feel there are many movies out there which portrayed a more honest and realistic view about how and why wars are being fought.
American Sniper was surrounded by Controversies since it's release..
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said that the release of the movie coincided with increased threats against Arabs and Muslims.
It and others have also accused Eastwood of dishonestly linking the September 11 attacks with Iraq.
Matt Taibbi (American author and journalist) criticized American Sniper for its portrayal of politics. Chris Hedges (American journalist and activist) criticized the film for lionizing the gun culture and promoting the blind adoration of the military.
Zaid Jilani (American blogger and campaigner for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC)) said in Salon, quoting Kyle's autobiography, argued that both the film and Kyle's reputation "are all built on a set of half-truths, myths and outright lies.
The biopic of Chris Kyle, a sniper with the most recorded kills in US military history. Clint Eastwood gets at the helm to tell the tale of his tours in the Iraq war.
One might expect an overly patriotic film given the subject matter, but Eastwood leaves the question of whether or not Kyle was a hero up for debate. The first thing Kyle does is kill a woman and a child who are attempting to attack a group of soldiers. It’s perhaps a ham fisted way to illustrate the moral conflict (although from what I gather it was a true story), but it’s effective and places the film firmly in neutral territory, leaving the audience to make up their minds.
Bradley Cooper is probably at his best here as the lead character, giving off an air of quiet confidence. He makes Kyle at home in the battlefield, which helps us understand his rationale for doing what he does, despite having Sienna Miller at home with two kids.
American Sniper is a little bland. Eastwood is a competent director but he doesn’t seem to care when things get monotonous. There’s a brilliant scene on a rooftop leading up to an evacuation in a sandstorm. The danger and confusion of the situation is tangible. Highlights like that are sadly outweighed but the dull, fruitless scenes back home. It could be interesting to see the effect on Kyle’s home life but the half hearted attempt shown here leaves us wanting.
This is another solid but not particularly memorable piece of work from Clint Eastwood.
http://benoliver999.com/film/2016/04/24/americansniper/
Review by FinFanBlockedParentSpoilers2015-10-10T09:53:16Z
I, too, am among those who thinks this film is rather below average. And I say this as a decade-long Eastwood fan. I will not enter into the discussion about the politics and morality of war and if the movie answers those questions. Only this, I don´t think this is an anti-war movie.
The problem I had after watching this was that I wasn´t sure what Eastwoods intensions were regarding Kyle. I didn´t know the first thing about him (I´m not American) but I feel I could have gotten the same picture about him reading on wikipedia. Although his fate in the end is tragic I don´t feel sorry for him. He choose his profession, he could have gotten out, he knew the risks. I feel sorry for his family - his wife and kids.
So what was the intension ? Did Eastwood wanted to show a movie about a great soldier ? About a man who sacrifices everything for the so-called greater good. Or should this be about the effects of PTSD ? Whatever it was the movie touches all of these points without really exploring anything in detail. In the end this movie did not touch me, it doesn´t made me want to know more about the man, it could have just as easily been a fictional character. That´s the imperssion it left on me.