Review of American Sniper (2014) by Shawn M — 30 Nov 2015

A well made movie overall, but some very strange inconsistencies, especially for a film by Clint Eastwood. I think the film depicts the life of a modern American soldier very well as well as the ways a soldier's life is impacted.

My biggest complaints are about three points and are kind of spoilers. So, proceed with that knowledge. First off, the chemistry between Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller is fantastic and their love for each other is portrayed very well.

That part I was happy about. Also, another good point is Chris Kyle's unwavering sense of honor, duty and patriotism which were extremely well depicted by Cooper. Here's my first problem: throughout the film, Chris' distance from his wife and children are obvious and are compounded with each tour he returns from.

This is well acted and directed. It gets to the point where Taya Kyle seems ready to leave him. However, it seems that just minutes later in the film we see Chris happy, enjoying his family and his life with Taya declaring him essentially a great man, husband and father.

I don't in any way claim that isn't true. But, the journey from distant, PTSD-riddled Chris Kyle to the warm, loving husband and father is non-existant. It just happened way to fast for me. Problem two: overall the film just felt disjointed.

He's at war, he's at home, back and forth and both Chris' journey and he and Taya's strained relationship just get quick moments on screen and it doesn't feel fluid at all. Lastly, in the entire film, Chris is unwavering in his mission.

His job is protecting his fellow soldiers, that is Job One and it is powerful to watch. But in the films climactic rooftop battle - which felt overly dramatized and unrealistic - suddenly while his fellow solders need him the most, Chris takes that moment to come apart and call his wife to say "I'm ready to come home".

While that should have been a very poignant and emotional moment for me, I instead felt a little angry. This just wasn't the kind of thing I would imagine Chris Kyle to be capable of. For me, the most emotional part of the film was the actual footage of Chris' funeral procession.

The few minutes watching those images filled me with more pride and emotion than the entire film leading up to it.