American Sniper (2014) by The Critical Movie Critics

Movie Review: American Sniper (2014)


American Sniper is more intent on creating a hero out of Chris Kyle, reportedly the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history, than it is on being an unbiased character study; to be fair, the film was based on Kyle’s eponymous memoir, which wasn’t the most objective of the Iraq War either. So obviously it is a movie that can start all types of political debates amongst your peers. Personally, I didn’t understand what makes Kyle a “hero,” though the film is told through the presumption that our involvement in Iraq is completely justifiable. Director Clint Eastwood tries to convince you of that by pegging all Iraqis as “the enemy.” There are a few implicit hints that Mustafa (played by Sammy Sheik), an Iraqi super-sniper invented by the filmmakers for dramatic effect, is stuck in a very similar — albeit unexplored — circumstance as Chris (played by Bradley Cooper), but their unspoken relationship is never fleshed out past being the backdrop for action sequences; that is regrettable because it would have not only been a fresh dynamic but also could’ve boosted the film’s neutrality.

Conservatism aside, the script is still dreadful. Written by Jason Dean Hall (who helped pen “Paranoia,” apparently a box office bomb), the film is keen on putting stock characters in stock situations. American Sniper is sequenced around Kyle’s four tours in Iraq; Sienna Miller also makes intermittent appearances as Chris’ wife, Taya. Neither the domestic nor foreign drama is any exciting. As you might’ve guessed there’s lots of “support our troops” nationalism embedded in both. Most notably, Kyle’s reasons for joining the Navy SEALs are never really explained, but both Eastwood and Dean Hall are content on having their hero join because of God-given devotion to his country. Who the fuck goes from riding bulls and drinking beers to joining the military based on that alone? Also, how has Hollywood reduced the horrors of living with PTSD to a cliché?

Politics really aside this time, American Sniper does have spot-on cinematography. As much as you could disagree with Eastwood’s stance on labeling Kyle a hero for the same things that he pigeonholes Iraqis as “savages” for, there’s no denying that the film is entertaining visually. There is a real sense of intimacy in the scenes where Kyle is alone with his rifle, especially in the opening sequence — featured most primarily in the film’s advertising — when Kyle is forced to decide whether to pull the trigger on a pre-teen Iraqi boy who is given a grenade by his mother. These scenes are brought to life by Eastwood’s cut-and-dry style, which gives them war-torn grit. The most striking scene both visually and dramatically, however, happens when one of the film’s major shootouts is completely enveloped by a dust storm. It’s those moments when Kyle is forced into the cross-hairs of life and death that the film shines, primarily because its ideologies are not center stage.

While Eastwood and his writers don’t unearth Kyle’s post-traumatic stress themselves, Cooper definitely picks up some of the slack. Ultimately, Cooper makes American Sniper. It’s a shame that the film’s patriotic ambitions restricted how much of Kyle’s mental anguish the audience gets to see because, based on his performance with the material that is given, Cooper could’ve been a classic lead. The actor does a great job at slowly draining whatever charm and sensitivity his character begins with and slowly diluting it with the repressed rage and sadness that accompany Kyle’s four consecutive tours. Unfortunately, none of his co-stars are quite up to the standard Cooper sets. There actually aren’t any memorable supporting characters. Miller’s turn may have some resonance, but Taya still remains an incredibly benign character.

As you can expect, American Sniper closes with title cards. If you’ve ever been disappointed by films that end with title cards, you can pretty much be sure to hate how Eastwood handles his. Surprisingly, it’s nothing political; instead, a huge chunk of the conclusion is narrated through a quick, one-sentence line. Even worse, that quick synopsis ends up being infinitely more interesting than much of Chris’ later tours, which get kind of monotonous. Even worse is that, with the information being encompassed in that one title card, the film could’ve literally ended at any point after its first act. For once a filmmaker isn’t too hasty to pull the trigger on his story; Eastwood directs American Sniper through the patient scope of a marksman, one who watches his own film get buried under a dust storm of bad screenwriting.

Critical Movie Critic Rating:
2 Star Rating: Bad

2

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'Movie Review: American Sniper (2014)' have 18 comments

  1. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 1, 2015 @ 5:48 pm Kanga

    What is the point of this movie? It doesn’t do a good job as either a war movie or a character study.

    • The Critical Movie Critics

      January 21, 2015 @ 11:21 am I Smart

      I wonder the same. I left the movie with zero impression.

  2. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 1, 2015 @ 6:02 pm G

    Live by the sword die by the sword. He got what was coming to him.

    • The Critical Movie Critics

      January 1, 2015 @ 10:28 pm Liz Bolyarde

      He may have been a lying jerk but no one deserves to be shot and killed especially when they’re trying to help others.

  3. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 1, 2015 @ 6:20 pm Lionel

    Drink a whiskey shot every time someone Kyle meets says to him “you’re the bestest sniper in all the world.” You won’t make it to the end of the film you’ll be so shitfaced.

    • The Critical Movie Critics

      January 2, 2015 @ 2:00 am Randomize

      Sounds like a fun game but I have to ask: what theater do you go to that allows patrons to bring a bottle of whiskey in with them?

  4. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 1, 2015 @ 6:24 pm CrackingToes

    Good review dude

  5. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 1, 2015 @ 7:13 pm Both77

    American Sniper is as clichéd as a movie can get. Don’t waste money or time on it.

  6. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 1, 2015 @ 9:41 pm sonshine

    I guess Eastwood has lost the mojo. As I mentioned on your trailer thread for this film, a good war story should have gotten him back to form…

  7. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 1, 2015 @ 9:54 pm Tanner

    The climatic battle had to be a Hollywood concoction. 2+ mile killshot without a spotter followed by his holding off waves of jihadists until the birds fly in to save the day. Unbelievable.

  8. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 2, 2015 @ 7:35 am scottsequin

    I’d like to hear what Jesse Ventura has to say about Chris Kyle and more specifically about how he’s portrayed as such a hero in this movie.

  9. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 2, 2015 @ 1:52 pm Brooklyn

    I think Lone Survivor is a better movie.

    • The Critical Movie Critics

      January 30, 2015 @ 10:02 am DiscoDave

      It’s a better action movie. American Sniper is a character deconstruction. You can’t compare apples to oranges.

  10. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 2, 2015 @ 2:46 pm Nutrabar

    I agree 100% with your critique Mariusz. Eastwood stays within a box, I believe had Spielberg stayed on to direct we’d be singing a different tune about this.

  11. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 4, 2015 @ 3:05 am Commie Slayer

    Mariusz Zubrowski is a dumbass progressive who would rather honor Whitney Houston, than a true American PATRIOT.

  12. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 4, 2015 @ 6:50 pm Joseph Adams

    So if I understand this review correctly, the most fundamental problem with this movie is that it fails to peddle anti-war propaganda and unforgivably casts America (and its role in Iraq) in a less than horrible light. Sounds like a good movie.

  13. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 5, 2015 @ 11:16 am JustSnipe

    They are savages.

  14. The Critical Movie Critics

    January 18, 2015 @ 10:05 pm Luciano vitale

    Move to Cuba you libtard commie bastard

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