American Sniper (2014 movie)

Category: Biographical war drama

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There's an old saying that the first casualty of war is truth, and given that this movie is based on the autobiography of a soldier who fought in one of the most politically-charged wars in history and was produced in conjunction with his family, one can't help but wonder if this movie is closer to a hagiography than anything else.

History, as they say, is written by the victors…

The long and short of American Sniper is that Chris Kyle (portrayed by Bradley Cooper), a weekend rodeo bum who decides to join the armed forces back in the late 90s after seeing a news report of American embassies being bombed, goes on to become the most decorated sniper in American military history. Besides the military action on display, we also see his wife struggle with solo parenthood and Kyle himself dealing with trauma in between and after his four tours of War On Terror-era Iraq.

And to drive the plot along, the terrorists have an equally skilled sniper on their side who Kyle sees it as his duty to eliminate, which he does with an extremely long-shot.

As a film (and regardless of my opinion on the subject) I will say that yes, this is a great film. It goes for a tick over two hours, but the pacing and the ability to tell a story make it bearable. The military action scenes and effects are very well done, the plot doesn't feel too contrived (though not without relying on some tropes), and Cooper does a helluva job towards the end with his portrayal of someone affected by the rigours of war. The movie then ends suddenly with a graphic stating that Kyle was murdered by a returned soldier he was trying to rehabilitate.

The Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle once made a joke about how not only will America invade your country, but they'll then make movies in 20 years time about it made their soldiers feel sad. He should have also added that Americans will also give themselves awards for making movies about how their soldiers felt sad, because this movie was nominated for six Oscars.

However, I do have a few criticisms to make - the first drawback is that this movie really does feel like a hagiography, especially when I read that certain people's participation in the movie was based on how they portrayed Kyle - so in reality, American Sniper comes across as part-biography, part historical-fiction movie. Which leads to my second drawback:

While it's not quite full-on "America - fuck yeah!" levels of patriotism, there is a lot of light and very little shade in the portrayal of the all-American hero - yes, Chris Kyle does regret the fact he had to put two bullets through a mother and child - but that was to protect his fellow soldiers, you see. No, the most evil and horrific thing that Kyle does is almost kill a dog in a post-war PTSD-induced rage - so it's not really his fault.

And the last drawback I have is fake babies - there is one scene in particular where Kyle and his wife are having an emotional discussion while holding their baby, but the baby is clearly a fake. There's actually a point where you can see Cooper move the baby's arm to try make the baby look more real, but it just doesn't work.

All-in-all, a very well made war movie.

FINAL RATING: 4/5