Understanding why.

Rating: 7/10 (18 February 2015)

The movie is not anti-war, as some have argued. It is anti-warmonger, and definitely shows many of the hassles a sincere warrior must endure, especially the misunderstanding received at home and in war. My only real criticism of this movie is that, like "The Mockingbird Part 1." it is screened in a slightly vertically compressed form, making vertical dimensions at least 10 per cent less, making most of the actors seem stocky, and scenery heights with characters in the shot seem lower than scenery without characters. Jason Hall is not that buff, in spite of working out for the part. In one scene, in the Iraq base, one character is seen lifting makeshift weights. Unfortunately, the weights shown are about twice the weight lifted during the Olympics, and this attempt to depict the SEALS as brawn not brain is misguided. Overall, Hall plays Kyle in a very understated way, showing much of the ingrained humility and humanity of the few true exceptional warriors I have met or commanded. How action affects warriors, and how non-combatants misunderstand them or simply do not care, comes out strongly. The movie is slow, much slower than (say) "The Hurt Locker" or "The Green Zone" but manages to maintain interest. It is good that it was made soon enough after Kyle's death to be released while the relevant combat is still underway, to show those who claim to support war that there are severe effects on the humanity of all involved, and that these effects do not vanish when the troops come home.