Review of American Sniper (2014) by Steve S — 07 Jul 2015

I went in with a negative disposition of the movie, but still left room to be pleasantly surprised. I wasn't. I mean, Bradley Cooper is good, and there were some intense moments, but the lack of focus cannot keep me engaged.

There are times when I just wanted Eastwood to stay on one camera for more than three second. It's like, "What the fuck is going on? Stop jumping around!" I can only imagine how chaotic war can be, but this is a movie--you need to keep the viewer engaged.

Also, I understand the parts with Chris Kyle and his wife are important to knowing his story, but those parts just seem awkward and downright tough to watch at times. It would help if the movie gave me more dates, as well.

I remember seeing one notation stating "First Tour", and another for "Fourth Tour" and a date below the "Fourth Tour" text, but those are the only times we see any extra information.

Geez, give me more dates. Help me understand the sequence of events. I know the movie has some significant factual inaccuracies from Chris Kyle's novel (on which the movie is based), but this movie takes place over several years--I need to know at least the year in which a part of the movie is taking place.

While I gave the film a low score, I don't hate it. Strangely, I can see how people can love this movie, and I can see how others find it overrated.