Review of American Sniper (2014) by Pieter D — 21 Mar 2018

"American Sniper" tells the story of Chris Kyle, one of the most deadly snipers in American history. It doesn't tell us his whole life story, but offers more like a series of snapshots of Kyles life at home and at the field during his tours in Iraq.

We don't get a lot of background information on Kyle in his youth or his life in general, in fact we don't really get to know him at all. The biggest problem with the movie is that it doesn't explore the psyche of a sniper, or even of Kyle as a man, and what kind of toll it takes on a man.

In that regard "American Sniper" is a missed opportunity and can feel superficial at times. Emotional problems are glossed over (Kyle only has one scene with his psychiater for example) and are sacrificed for some well directed and tense action scenes.

While the movie is long, it thankfully moves at a steady pace and benefits from a solid central performance from Bradley Cooper. His performance however is held back by a straightforward script that avoids the deeper questions.

I found it also problematic that the movie feels a bit too patriotic for its own good at times, a fact that can bother a lot of viewers. In the movie, Kyle never questions if they are fighting for the right reasons (another missed opportunity), and it doesn't feel like director Clint Eastwood wants to explore these questions either.

The message of the movie is hard to decipher. Is this an anti-war film? In that case, the exploits of the leading man are a little too glorified and it doesn't offer enough critique of the war in Iraq to be considered as an anti-war movie in my opinion.

Alas, Eastwood has opted for a more patriotic movie. "American Sniper" is competently made, but lacks depth. It is well filmed (there are some nice sweeping drone shots) and well edited (the action scenes can be gritty and exhilarating) but is marred by a lack of characterization.

It is far from one of Eastwoods worst movies, but it lacks the guts and the heart of his better movies, falling somewhere awkwardly between two chairs.