Apolitical study of a soldier's psyche

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2015)

I feel compelled to add a review due to the widely distorted reviews written by people on the opposites of the political spectrum (I blame Fox News for trying to make it their propaganda piece). This is obscuring the merits of "American Sniper", which I appreciate as a psychologist and the son of a Korean War veteran, whom I observed having a PTSD episode 50 years after the war. Additionally, both sides make mistakes in describing the movie, such as stating that it supposedly shows 9/11 as a justifiable pretext to kill Iraqis. Although it is not openly against the US-Iraq War, this is not the Chuck Norris B-movie version of it.
It's gotten so bad that before I can offer my positive opinion on this movie, I have to state my political affiliation: I was against George W. Bush since when he was running for governor. During the 2000 election, I warned everyone I could that Bush was going to find an excuse to invade Iraq, and that neither candidate was addressing the threat of Al Qaeda. After 9/11, I felt like joining the military to fight Bin Laden, but desisted, suspecting misuse by the Bush/Cheney administration. I was against the invasion. I later lost someone I knew in the war, and then watched in horror as my brother was assigned to Iraq. Luckily he came back alive. Now, let's move beyond the politics.
In "American Sniper", Eastwood and his crew focused on answering two great questions: what would lead a man to kill so many people? And what happens to that killer outside of the war front? Think about it: Chris Kyle's amount of kills would place him #4 on the all-time serial killer list. However, all of his killing was within the military context.
This movie's answer to the questions: he was raised to view himself as a protector, was trained in shooting from a young age, was a 'good ole boy' who had a false start in his adult life, and found his calling when he saw the 1998 embassy bombings (not 9/11). Religion is not a factor; he carries an unopened Bible as a talisman of sorts. He wants to go after the Al Qaeda terrorists. At the end of his training, 9/11 happens. The movie then skips over the Afghanistan war and the Iraq invasion per se, and dives straight into Kyle's chance to go after a terrorist, by being part of the mission to hunt Al Zarqawi. (Yes, I understand that Al Qaeda was able to come into Iraq as a consequence of the US invasion.) From there on Kyle is locked obsessively in the hunt, which becomes progressively personal, as the hunter becomes the hunted. He is initially disturbed by his killings. He later is knee-deep in the war and believes himself to be protecting people through violent mayhem. He is paranoid, being told that the only people left in the city are those helping the enemy, and he has some setbacks when he tries to trust people. He has become a killing machine, a hunter, and cannot transition back home, to life with his family. He is a very different person, tense, stressed, obsessed. He serves an insane four tours. He does not want to celebrate his fame. He still questions some killings, to the point of vomiting. When he chooses to stop, his sense of mission accomplished is different from where he started. He then returns to a full-blown battle: that for his mental health. He finds solace through helping other veterans unwind their own warrior psyche. I found all of this to be fascinating and balanced.
Is "American Sniper" pro-war-in-Iraq, despite its depiction of the damages to the the US soldiers? Although there is increased time towards the end dedicated to intense battles where you are asked to root for the US soldiers, overall I do not think that it justified the war. There is no "win" (save for one personal battle/competition); just an exit. There is no heroic, glorious score. Kyle's character avoids talking politics. He firmly believes that he is fending off a terrorist invasion of the USA, and/or simply protecting other soldiers (the latter which is questioned). Two characters close to him question the war, with one flat-out saying "I don't think what we are doing is right anymore". I also did not find "American Sniper" to be a portrayal of Iraqis as 'evil savages'. The term 'savages' is used a couple of times by the soldiers to describe terrorists and fighters who had attacked them. This is shown within context of a realistic exchange between soldiers. Otherwise, I felt that the movie forced us to view every Iraqi as humans. Most of Kyle's targets seemed nervous, not necessarily evil, picking up a weapon more out of an opportunity to fight, and wielding weapons more threatening than them. Some are shown as victims of the fight between both sides. Other Iraqis are shown as understandably angry at soldiers. Even Kyle's rival sniper seemed to be simply doing his job, a sort of mirror image of Kyle. Some of his shots are shocking, and you wish that the people did not have to be shot. The only truly evil characters are 'The Butcher' and his cohorts.
From a technical standpoint, "American Sniper" is very well acted (Bradley Cooper disappears into the role incredibly well), edited, and shot. The weakness? Some of the battle scenes towards the end go on unnecessarily, and come close to transforming into a standard action movie. Instead, we could have used some more time with Kyle at home after he leaves the war.
For those of you looking to make a flat-out anti-Bush era wars movie, go ahead and carefully adapt "Where Men Find Glory". How about an Iraqi equivalent of "Das Boot"? For those of you trying to glorify the Iraq invasion, go make a sci-fi flick. You will find none of these movies in "American Sniper".