Combat Film or Domestic Drama? Please Pick One, Mr. Eastwood

Rating: 6/10 (1 February 2015)

People are seeing what they want to see in "American Sniper" without paying a lot of attention to what Clint Eastwood is actually saying.
There's been a liberal firestorm leveled at the film for its pro- military, pro-killer attitudes, to which I say: Have these people actually seen the movie?
I identify as liberal myself and have aimed more than my fair share of criticism at our military and the things it's used for. But anyone who thinks "American Sniper's" final message is pro-military is unfairly biased and isn't watching the film with an open mind. In Bradley Cooper's character, the film portrays the kinds of guys I think the military is probably full of -- guys who join up for noble ideals, are genuinely proud of America and their role in protecting it, think that's what they'll get a chance to do once they're in the military, and then are asked to do things that they can't mentally and emotionally handle. The film doesn't make a villain out of Cooper for being such a good and deadly sniper, which people seem to take exception to, thinking wrongly that if the film doesn't turn him into a villain, then it must intend him to be a hero. But I think the movie just feels bad for Cooper more than anything. He's just a decent guy who has a job and does it well, but the job he's asked to do is horrifying and something the average American can't even comprehend.
As for the movie itself, I didn't like it very much, but not for the reasons everyone else seems to have for disliking it. I felt that Eastwood wasn't sure whether he wanted to make a domestic drama or a straight-up combat film. Combat mostly wins out, with the domestic part, which should have been most interesting, feeling like a somewhat obligatory add-on, full of clichés and standard melodrama. Sienna Miller, as Cooper's wife, is a fine actress, but she's stuck with a thankless and boring role. Cooper is very good, but the movie's emphasis on combat over character development limits how effective he, or anyone else given the same role, could be.
Mostly, I came out of "American Sniper" thinking: "That was no 'Hurt Locker'."
Grade: B