Eastwood comes up trumps again

Rating: 7/10 (17 April 2017)

American Sniper is another true tale boasting exemplary direction from Clint Eastwood, nowadays a master craftsman in his elder years. The subject of the film is the American invasion of Iraq in the early 2000s, and the film follows the path of a famed sniper who chalked up an endless amount of enemy kills during his multiple tours of duty.
Like THE HURT LOCKER, this is a gritty and realistic film that seeks to get into the heads of the soldiers involved on the ground. It does so admirably, building up a fine psychological portrait of the main character, and Bradley Cooper impresses in a role in which he mains himself virtually unrecognisable from the brash, handsome leading man so familiar to audiences from his roles in LIMITLESS and THE A-TEAM among many others.
The film features plenty of battle footage in the form of chases, shoot-outs, and a suspenseful siege situation. Obviously, sniping plays a big part in the action and the sniper scenes are hard-hitting and realistic; I also appreciated the moral dilemma bits that are presented throughout. The bits back home are less enthralling, although the climax is very well achieved and Sienna Miller gives her best performance yet.