A riveting story of the 'legend'

Rating: Null/10 (2 February 2015)

Aiming for the deer through the bushes, young Chris Kyle quickly learns the importance of getting the job done and the honor in being a guard dog of the sheep. These humble origins turn him into a cowboy who competes at various rodeos with his brother until he learns about the bombings at the US Embassies in Africa. An urgent desire to serve for the nation with his remarkable skill as a marksman, gets him enlisted for training as a SEAL. Clint Eastwood yet again indulges into the mindset of a man, a violent one, whose troubles during war were brought back home. Completely avoiding the controversies surrounding Chris Kyle's stories and claims, Eastwood chooses to remain true to his achievements on field and their repercussions back home. 'American Sniper' will evoke an enduring sense of patriotism for the men who win and lose at wars in faraway lands and concern for the trauma that seldom leaves them.
As he takes aim for a headshot on an Iraqi boy carrying a bomb given by his mother, a flashback into Chris Kyle's past reveals the origins of this man of violence. After negating the threat to the convoy, Chris and his team team are assigned to take down an Al-Qaeda leader and his second-in-command, the butcher. Plans with an informant fail terribly as an enemy sniper renders the SEALs helpless and they barely manage an escape. Chris goes on to kill numerous potential threats, earning him the weight of being the 'legend'; a title he would rather keep undisclosed from his wife. Taya (Sienna Miller) is a caring wife and mother who reminds Chris that apart from being a hero for his country, he is a father and a husband. With a bounty on his head declared by the enemy, Chris departs from his wife and new- born son for his second tour that would bring success to his team against the butcher. By his third tour though, the enemy sniper 'Mustafa' causes serious damage to the SEAL team and its morale as Chris continues to remain edgy and uncomfortable on his visits back home. There is a responsibility upon Chris' shoulders that is beyond just that of reporting for duty. Perched on rooftops overlooking the movement of convoys and teams of Marines and SEALS, Chris eliminates any threat to his team. He thus feels that he is entrusted with saving the lives of every single soldier on field. While at home, playing with his kids or watching TV, Chris is haunted by the notion of the being constantly at war, trying to save those he couldn't.
The fourth tour to Iraq would require the American Sniper to take down the threat of Mustafa deep inside enemy lines. Motivated by revenge for the loss of his friends, Chris takes a seemingly impossible yet very risky shot at the Syrian Olympic shooter and exposes his team to an astounding number of insurgents that swarm into their building. With a fast approaching sandstorm, not fast enough backup of forces and depleting ammunition, the SEAL team is faced with more than just the enemy's gunfire. This thrilling sequence is brilliantly directed by Clint Eastwood who doesn't shy away from incessant bullet firing and other imminent dangers.
As Kyle calls it a day, he takes the advice of his wife and sees an army doctor who recommends interacting with soldiers who have just returned from active duty. Through their physical and mental injuries, Chris' compassion serves as a purpose to life after war but he could only find peace for a while.
The engagement with the war in Iraq makes the audience want to return to the battle field as much as Chris desires to. Eastwood takes us right in the middle of the battles through the eyes of the sniper and behind his life and death decisions at the spur of the moment. Bradley Cooper's sincere portrayal enables the director to keep it real and engaging. With his Texan accent and cowboy swag, he pulls off a mellow character who transforms into America's most lethal marksman and a struggling family man. This has to be Bradley Cooper's role of a lifetime. Sienna Miller's expressive emotions create conflicts for Chris but behind it all is her love and concern as his wife.
Tom Stern's cinematography in the tense war zones as well as the gloomy surroundings of Chris' return to home portrays the environments as they are for the characters. Combined with the visual effects and stunts, it creates some riveting action sequences that are among the best of Eastwood's films. As a director who cares about the human element in his stories, much attention was paid to depicting Kyle's struggles. Yet, for cinematic reasons the director chooses to overlook Kyle's interaction on media upon his return, rather leaving him with recovery from the post-war stress.
The up-to-date individual and readers of Kyle's best-seller would know how it all ends but Eastwood's culmination of the narrative is genuinely moving. He engages the audience with Kyle's character so well that the end leaves us hanging in disbelief. Yet, there is an overwhelming sense of pride and patriotism that builds up to it with the pin-drop silence in the theater in the last few minutes being a testament to Chris Kyle's heroism and Clint Eastwood's remarkable direction of powerful human stories.

8.689 on a scale of 1-10.