Review of American Sniper (2014) by Renovatia — 11 Oct 2016

This is not it guys. I'm sorry but I have to be very negative. I realize some can't stand any negativity, so I ask you to read this at your own discretion.

Let's begin with the movie. No spoilers. Just let me say it wasn't much better than the usual straight-to-TV movie. The budget was somewhat higher, but this is where the good stuff pretty much ends. Don't expect awesome sniper-stuff or anything like that. In fact, the little bit you saw was utter nonsense. I served myself and I can tell you, not even regular troops were like that; very unrealistic and unprofessional. You get to look through the scope, so let me tell you it's a made up nonsensical thing they came up with.

This movie is a drama first and foremost. It's about the inner person of Chris Kyle, his partner, his life. As mentioned before, none of it was done right, convincingly nor was I moved to care.

The movie is based on a book of a soldier who's known to 'shoot first, ask questions later'. This is what his comrades said. This makes the 200 kills suspicious from the get-go. Needless to say that his colleagues put this carefully in the media and anonymous. And needless to say that the main stream media didn't pursue this angle.

Chris Kyle is the same person who needed to ridicule Jesse Ventura in his book. He supposedly floored Ventura. Ventura sued the Kyle estate and won the case. What's interesting is that no SEAL witness could produce a consistent story even though they were there. This angered the Jury, as they explained in the media, and hence allowed Ventura to win the case.

They (the anti-Ventura SEALS) subsequently complained in the media that 'what happens inside should stay inside'. It supposedly is a unwritten SEAL code (cliché cliché). But none of them was consistent enough to mention that Kyle ignored that very same rule! In fact, he ridiculed an ex-colleague in a commercial and publicly available book. How is that for double standards? Even though Ventura won the case, he is practically out of job since then.

American Sniper is the same guy who bragged about shooting looters after Katrina. I'm sorry but bragging about it is not right.

I'm aware of the popularity of the SEALs around the globe. But because of their policy to be visible in the media (they made that choice few years ago), their ugly side shines through as well. Too often they communicate and behave like stereotypes who use too much anabolics.