A Well-Acted Story of Loss

Rating: 8/10 (6 February 2015)

There seems to be a dearth of reviews that stick to the merits of this film. I will try to do better, though the intent of the director is a valid discussion point.
First of all, I think the acting is excellent. Bradley Cooper is believable as a gung-ho marine and Sienna Miller really conveys the heartache of a spouse who feels she has no control over her life and her future.
The scenes in the battle zones feel authentic, with a real sense of danger and uncertainty. The house to house fighting feels claustrophobic, adding to the suspense.
"American Sniper" is based upon a true story. Sometimes it is difficult to discover what liberties are taken, but those I have read about are significant, if few. I really wish that filmmakers who take liberties with history would add a post script in the credits that details the facts that are changed. This would be a service to everyone and demonstrate the filmmaker's dedication to transparency and the truth.
Hero. It's a word that is used too easily and too often. Those who, upon watching the film, declare Chris Kyle to be a hero, are, I think, imposing their own agenda upon the film's narrative. In scenes, we see that Chris is programmed by his father from an early age to view the world in simplistic terms. Once he accepts the world view of his father, he is little more than a bullet waiting to be fired. Yes, he has free will, but in a world where the United States is almost always involved in military conflict, he is destined to join the armed forces. In his case, 9/11 is the trigger.
In the film, Kyle is a victim, not a hero. Once he fulfills his destiny and signs up, he is compelled to continue on this track. He cannot even admit to himself that he suffers from mental illness, let alone to his wife or an analyst. He becomes incapable of truly showing his love, even to his wife or children. Note that he never smiles when on leave, but he frequently laughs while on duty, even on missions.
The movie also points out the pervasiveness of the gun culture--for those who seek it. Kyle is raised to value guns and to cherish the stopping of "a beating heart". It is natural that his military experience would center on his talent with a gun. Unfortunately, in his job as a sniper, he must make moral judgments from a distance--something that is virtually impossible to do without error. This fact comes to be the source of his mental decline, though he never admits the source of his breakdown. Because he never identifies the issue, he easily continues his attachment to guns afterwards, something that eventually destroys him.
To those who will watch this film with an open mind, it does have lessons to learn, though it appears the director tried to subvert those lessons in the final scenes. Regardless of the director's intentions, the film speaks for itself and it tells a story of loss, not the story of redemption that some choose to see.