American Sniper (2014): Dir: Clint Eastwood / Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Max Charles, Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner: Relentless account war drama about a title that nobody desires after the explosions cease. Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle, a Texan who was raised on hunting and being a man. He is recruited eventually to go to Iraq where he would become a legendary sniper. Sienna Miller plays his wife whom he met in a bar. This is a tremendously weak aspect of the film. After they meet her scenes are reduced to either phone conversations or his temporary returns from duty. Two of those phone conversations occur in the midst of enemy attack. The first time, with her realization the life threatening her husband faced, works, but the second call within battle seems a bit forced. When he does return she argues with his distant behavior. Also, they have two children and time just jumps ahead and it lacks involvement. It also doesn't help that during one scene the baby being held is actually a doll. Another big flaw is that, outside Kyle, none of the other characters are very broad. Bradley Cooper brings out the anguish of somebody celebrated as a legendary sniper yet he doesn't celebrate it because killing people takes an emotional toll from the start when he is forced to shoot a mother and son whom are armed. Clint Eastwood brings out the intensity of war and the difficulty of normality once these soldiers return home. While this film is strikingly well crafted technically, for a superior film with very similar themes is Brothers, where characters are more involving and the message still hits its target. Score: 6 ½ / 10
Review of American Sniper
