Where's the beef?

Rating: 4/10 (24 January 2015)

The U.S. is the world's most militaristic country. We spend nearly as much on the military as all of the rest of the world combined. We're the big kick-ass guys on the block and proud of it. All of our soldiers are automatically "heroes".
With that in mind, give this movie 10 stars! However, put aside all the mile-long kill shots, dust, and explosions, and where is the beef? Bradley Cooper plays a gung-ho Texan who can't wait to serve his country (although what Iraq did for the U.S. is unclear). The military, as it always does, tortures and brainwashes him until all he cares about are his buddies in arms. OOH RAH! So he leaves his new family and reenlists for 4 tours, each one of which is exactly the same as the others. He gets up on a rooftop and shoots the bad guys. Every once in a while he comes down off his perch and breaks into Iraqi houses with the grunts. He's ultra-macho and a very good shot.
That had some appeal during the first tour, but what happens after that? More of the same. Chris Kyle shoots and shoots and never changes. His personality is fixed. His wife does develop over the years, but Kyle is insensitive to it. Get him back on those roofs!
I don't attach any political significance to "American Sniper". Whether it's pro-war or anti-war means nothing to me. It is just a mediocre movie on its own merits.