Apolitical review of an apolitical movie

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2015)

American Sniper is about part of the life of Chris Kyle, who was a sniper in the US military in Iraq. Kyle served four tours of duty in Iraq. In his capacity as a sniper and soldier (actually a SEAL), he killed a lot of people. The movie sketches his background and the events that led him to enlist in the Navy, become a SEAL, and then become a sniper. The movie presents his thoughts, internal conflicts, and difficulties dealing with the stresses of war in general and his experiences in particular. THAT'S IT.
I gave the movie 7 stars because of my internal rating system. Eight or more stars is a movie I would want to see at least one more time. American Sniper isn't that kind of movie for me, though it may be for others. I saw it once, am glad I did, and am satisfied. I can easily see why someone who has a closer connection to the movie (e.g., a veteran of the war in Iraq) might want to see this movie more than once. For that person, the movie easily could be an 8 or higher.
The acting and direction are excellent.
The movie is about Kyle, not American foreign policy, patriotism, or even heroism. The movie takes no stand on whether the Iraq war was good or bad. It does not present Kyle as a hero but rather as a man who did his job well. If you want to see a movie about a man's participation in a twilight war against irregular fighters and terrorists and the effect that the war had on him, see this movie. Otherwise, skip it.
Now for a brief remark on the large number of reviews that paint this movies as either patriotic or routine propaganda. UTTER NONSENSE. Ignore all reviews that give the movie high marks or low marks because of the political preferences of the reviewer. The movie takes no stand on the desirability of the Iraq war, on how it was conducted, on American foreign policy, or any other political issue. The movie is completely apolitical. Some of the characters have doubts about what their side is doing. The main character himself has thoughts about what he is doing. At one point, he is quite ready to shoot a kid who has picked up an RPG and is trying to aim it at some US soldiers. While holding a bead on the kid, he keeps hoping the kid will drop the RPG. When the kid does just that, the main character is relieved. Not quite what some reviews would have you believe about what the movie does or what Kyle himself thought. The movie is about Chris Kyle, so of course it shows us his thoughts about the war and his role in it. Chris Kyle is patriotic. Chris Kyle joined the Navy in part because of 9/11. Chris Kyle has no regrets for the job he did. Those are CHRIS KYLE's thoughts, not abstract statements about the desirability of American involvement in Iraq. Also, 9/11 really did happen, the enemy in Iraq really did use children and women as means to kill American and other foreign soldiers, many of the enemy were vicious people who murdered and tortured their opponents. The movie shows all that. It was part of the reality that framed Kyle's life. Nonetheless, the movie takes no stand on whether the US should have been in Iraq. The movie is about one man and his view of the world he was in and what he did in it. It is neither patriotic nor propaganda.
Some negative reviews complain that the movie glorifies "a killer." That is particularly offensive nonsense. Consider the following set of situations. (1) A soldier is sent to Iraq. He sees an enemy. He shoots the enemy before the enemy shoots him. Is the soldier a killer? If you say yes, then you are a fool, and we can stop here because you are beyond reason. If you say no, let's go on. (2) The same situation except the solider does not see the enemy. However, the soldier's buddy does see the enemy and shoots him. Is the soldier's buddy a killer? After all, the enemy wasn't aiming at the soldier's buddy. Repeat the answers to situation 1. (3) Same situation, except that now the soldier's buddy is posted on a rooftop looking for enemies so he can shoot them before they shoot the solider. The guy on the rooftop is called a sniper. He is good at his job and kills many enemy who are trying to bomb or shoot his comrade. Is he a killer? Repeat the answers to situation 1. In all the foregoing situations, the soldiers are doing their job and trying not to get killed doing it. That is what soldiers do. They are not killers for doing it. The people who sent them into combat may be evil, stupid, misinformed, or lots of other bad things, but the soldiers are just doing their job. This movie is about a soldier doing his job.
War is hell. It's not always clear that a war should be fought. Sometimes it is clear that it shouldn't have been. None of that is the fault or even the concern of the soldiers who fight those wars. They are just doing their job. This movie is about one of them. Leave your political baggage behind when you see this movie, and judge it for what it is.