Review of American Sniper (2014) by Dellett — 20 Mar 2015

The movie was excellent, but it should have been longer . So 9 instead of 10.

I loved the balance between telling a very patriotic, moving story of a hero who wasn't perfect, whose family life was far from perfect, in a war that was very far from perfect.

Chris left no man behind. In doing so, he left his wife and children behind and they also paid a terrible price for our freedom. But if I had been Chris, I don't know that I could or would have done anything different. What choice was there? Let soldiers die that you know you can save, or leave your wife and children in difficult suffering? He went as far as he could and then came home to save his family and himself.

Thankfully, they didn't try to justify or criticize the war. They just told us about a premier hero among many others in the background including Taya. As Chris’ wife and mother of their children, Taya was not one wit less the hero herself. Her mortal life may not have been on the line, but her heart and soul were. Taya not only did 4 tours with Chris, she had to deal with the hardships of this wonderful man when he returned while desperately yearning for the emotional support she needed.

Bradly Cooper and Sienna Miller were outstanding in bringing their story home to us.

They didn’t fully develop the whole story, but what they did, they did so very well.