American Sniper

My Grade:  A-

Let me start my review of this Oscar contender by saying that I am not a big fan of war movies. I don’t know why I’m not and I know that there are a lot of really solid war movies out there. They just aren’t my speed. But, I like Clint Eastwood as a director (Gran Torino is one of my favorites) and I have become a big Bradley Cooper fan since he shed his Hangover persona and has proven himself as one of the more versatile actors in the business today. Then there was the super intense trailer which had me intrigued. But, when American Sniper racked up six Oscar nominations this year, my fate was sealed - I was going to see American Sniper.

If you don’t know, Sniper follows the story of real life Navy Seal sniper Chris Kyle as he racks up kills and saves lives throughout four tours of duty in Iraq. Thankfully, the film also explores his family life during his time in the service and even his psyche after he returns home from the war. These aspects are what add the real emotional meat to the film. Without those parts, this would be just like any other run-of-the-mill war flick. Albeit a very intense and gritty war flick.

Three things make this film a standout. First, the production design is spectacular. Especially during the war scenes, it looks outstanding. You feel like you are watching a real war take place; it’s that convincing. Secondly, the intensity stays amped up to the utmost levels throughout the entire film. Every scene that takes place in Iraq has you on the edge of your seat. Thirdly, and most importantly, Bradley Cooper gives the best performance of his already impressive career. They say acting is about transforming... well, Cooper transformed into Kyle. He also portrays Kyle’s inner struggles (the conundrum of whether to shoot a child or not, being there for his family versus protecting his country, etc.) with a realistic subtlety that breaks your heart at times but always makes you want him to succeed.

This film is not without its problems, though. The biggest being that every other character (besides Kyle) is paper thin. Kyle’s brother seems like a big factor in the story at the beginning, then disappears until he pops up once more for a scene that doesn’t really help the story or the emotional development. He could have been used in a much more powerful way. All of Kyle’s military colleagues serve singular purposes and have weakly crafted backstories that are usually brought up right before they die or get hurt in a thinly veiled attempt to make us care a little more for them before they are ripped from Kyle’s life. Even Kyle’s wife is one dimensional! If there was ever a character that should have some effort put into her backstory, it’s the woman closest to Kyle. She only has one motivation:  keep her husband home with the kids. This singular motivation makes her come off very selfish and even belittling toward her husband (whom she claims to love) at times. The acting, though, is great. The supporting cast doesn’t have much to work with but they all are very believable in their respective roles.

Apart from the weak supporting characters, the film takes a few leaps in time which were a bit jarring for me. It could be because I don’t really know how long a tour of duty is or how long you get between tours but they were off-putting to the extent that once I wasn’t sure the kid Kyle was with was his son. I do, however love the enemy sniper character. He serves as a great foil for Kyle and doesn’t have to say a word to be a powerful character... he speaks with actions (most of those actions being killing folks from ridiculously long distances).

Overall, American Sniper is a solid entry into the war drama canon and deserves much of the praise it has received from critics and the Academy. It really is a shame that the supporting characters aren’t more well-developed, though, because this could be one of the all-time greats if it didn’t suffer from these weak characters. It’s not a film for the feint of heart, though. It portrays graphic violence and even shows a shocking amount of this violence toward children. It’s not just for shock value, though, it works in the film and just makes it that much more powerful.