One-Sided History

Rating: Null/10 (21 January 2015)

American Sniper is a biopic of Chris Kyle who served the US military during the war in Iraq, with his skills leading him to a reputation as their most lethal sniper, by the amount of kills. As the human inside, we see him as an obvious patriot, while struggling with a conflict of being haunted by war. Summing that information up is what mostly justifies the entirety of the film, but even so, it's still not kind of enough. There might be more compelling stories to tell within the biography of this man, surpassing the film's common view to him as an American hero. The war itself is also portrayed as one-sided which makes it less groundbreaking. While the craft and the acting are strong enough to keep up the film's value, it still doesn't hide the fact that there is something lacking in this character study.
There has been several controversies in Chris Kyle's career that didn't make it to this biopic, the film's perspective to the soldier is his heroism, how much he is committed to fight and die for his country. The big love for one's nation is an obvious trait defining a US soldier, as well as suffering the usual condition of conforming himself into war, almost forgetting how to live normally with his family. The movie does well examining this side of the character, especially when it shows the effects of war within his humanity. But the ordeal only goes beyond the reminder of the jolted pain and noise of warfare once and however gets easily resolved. A better exploration of this conflict is an opportunity left out hanging, but what it has shown is already well depicted anyway. The movie probably hails too much to the soldier which keeps repeating his praise and only leaves his forgiving flaws.
The war, while excitingly directed, gets an underwhelming treatment. The battle never gets a shade of gray, the enemies are basically just bad guys willing to kill without any remorse, no matter how young or old they are. Not that this is a big deal for war cinema, but this is basically just typical, that it could have been way effective if they're mostly faceless. The other soldiers don't get the development they needed for us to remember or actually care for them as characters. Luckily, the action is expertly handled, brimming a lot of tension around the battlefield, as bullets fly sometimes unpredictably, also showing how their actions affects the people outside their fight. The moral dilemma of taking down someone only comes if the target is a child, which is once again typical, but still remains compelling to bring pressures to the Sniper. Bradley Cooper does well as Chris Kyle, living up with the man's patriotism and strong will.
American Sniper doesn't really dare to go beyond to what has praised the soldier, we do see his flaws as a human, but the most questionable ones are mostly left out implied. Great biopics often tend to challenge the figure, but here he is noble, nothing more and nothing less. It can be both acceptable and not, but the craft and talent still spares a lot of excellent achievement, which makes it quite gripping. The film seems to avoid too much serious criticism, but then this is a story of patriotism and seeking beyond that might be too much to ask for.