Nerve-Wracking Portrait of Combat and Its Effects on Our Soldiers

Rating: 9/10 (22 January 2015)

There has been controversy over this film. The problem with those against it is that they don't understand what this film is about. It's about following one soldier and his experience in combat and what happens to him. People are beside themselves over the "politics" of the film. Well, I don't see any politics. Maybe that's enraging to some just because the politics of The Iraq War are never discussed.
I personally was against our going into Iraq. I remember watching "We Were Soldiers" with Mel Gibson just before the war started. This was another movie that was about the soldiers. The war in question there was The Vietnam War. Yet, that film didn't have any politics in it either. It was about the soldiers who fought. They signed up to serve their country. They didn't sign up for serving their country if they agreed with the war. They fought regardless. That is what soldiers do. If you have any questions about our nation deciding to wage a war, the only people you need to address is our elected representatives. They make the decision. Then, the soldiers fight. The soldiers have no say in the decision to fight that war. Once the soldiers are in the war, their lives are about doing what they've been ordered to do. And, it's about watching over each other. That's it, and that's the way it is.
This movie is about Chris Kyle, and what happens to him and to those around him. That is the structure of the movie. So, if people have a problem with that, that is up to them. I don't. I understand what Clint Eastwood intended to do with this film, and I think he, his cast and crew did a tremendous job.
The depiction of combat is nerve wracking. But, it is the effects on Kyle and his men that cut to the core. It should remind everyone what our men and women in the military do for their country.
********* (9 Out of 10 Stars)