There are some really great things about American Sniper and some incredibly tense moments that are so well crafted that I really wish that much care would’ve been given to the overall story.  Clint Eastwood’s examination of American hero Chris Kyle seems to be less concerned with who he is and more concerned about his myth and legacy.  Bradley Cooper puts in his best work to date but that is also part of the problem because no one else is given any chance to set themselves apart, which is not Cooper’s fault but down to the script and ultimately Eastwood.

American Sniper is based on the bestselling memoir of Chris Kyle, who with 160 confirmed kills is the most lethal sniper in American history.  Kyle served four tours in Iraq and no matter how you feel about the war or him personally, he is undoubtedly a soldier of the highest quality who served honorably.  Eastwood starts the story by introducing us to Kyle on a rooftop but then with flashbacks to tell us who this man is before his military career.  A boy raised around weapons and taught to respect them, a man who later rides bulls and can handle himself.  We see him meet his wife, played by Sienna Miller, and join the military after watching the attacks on 9/11 and before we know it we’re in Iraq with a rifle on his shoulder and a decision to make.  Now if all of this sounds rushed, that’s because it is.  It seems as if Eastwood can’t wait to get Cooper back onto rooftops or running through alleys to try to show us the weight of his actions.  Even his scenes with Miller don’t feel comfortable because it’s almost as if he’s rushing to the next scene…and let’s not even talk about the fake baby.  In fact, that’s my biggest complaint with the film overall.  Eastwood doesn’t seem at all interested in anyone else besides Cooper and his portrayal of Kyle.  We’re told over and over again how Kyle fights for his brothers in arms and they’re the reason why he continues to go back, but the movie isn’t interested in them at all, giving them nothing besides their names and even then there’s not one that I remember.  That drawback does allow Cooper to completely shine.  We spend almost the entire movie with him and his presence is one of masculinity, confidence and righteousness.  Cooper is all bravado, but that starts to wear away as he’s asked to balance life and death in battle.  Not only emotionally but also physically you can start to see those decisions wear on him and even though we aren’t given a lot of times to see him voice those issues there is particularly one scene where he’s given praise in front of his child and even he doesn’t quite know how to react to it, it’s fantastic acting.

While I found the script seriously lacking in both supporting characters and story, plus the introduction of a villain that wasn’t at all needed, ultimately this is a war movie and the film shines in that respect.  There is a palpable tenseness to the scenes that you can’t escape and the space is well established.  Silence is used incredibly effectively as well as the sounds and scenes of battle.  All except for the final battle scene where not even the raised stakes of a showdown between two expert snipers is enough but even more ludicrous problems need to arise.  Which leads us to the final scenes of the film which I’m not exactly sure what Eastwood was going for and not only feel unsettling but just plain strange.  Over the credits we’re given scenes of warmth and gratitude from people all over Texas for the war hero and knowing his sacrifice and skill I couldn’t help but feel that all of it was completely deserved, I only wish he could’ve had a film that overall was at that level as well.

Recommend? I know a lot of people that loved this movie, I just wasn’t one of them, so knowing that I’d probably say see it but you get what you get.