Good movie but dull script

Rating: 7/10 (28 January 2015)

American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper and directed by Clint Eastwood is nominated for 2015 Academy Awards under Best Picture category. However, it fails to impress much like The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty and others. American Sniper is a simplistic story of Chris Kyle, the most successful sniper during US-Iraq war credited with over 160 confirmed kills. Chris was a cowboy from Texas before getting into SEALS, which he joined after watching attacks on US citizens by Arabs. Chris was commissioned on 4 tours to Iraq over a period of 10 years and he was literally the most lethal sniper that Americans let loose on the Arabs. His first kill was an under-aged child and second a women, trying to attack US military convoy with a Russian grenade. Chris was getting better every time he killed a suspect, however after each tour when Chris was back home, he started developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder syndrome (PTSD). The movie essentially revolves around the 4 tours and how Chris deals with PTSD. What disappoints is that American Sniper is neither an action packed war thriller nor a heart thundering violent drama, it is somewhere in between like a dull diary of a soldier. Bradley hardly adds any meat to his role, as even George Clooney could have played the same role with his natural poise. Personally, the title sniper is bit misleading, as Chris was a soldier with a rifle and maximum kills but not like Vassilli of Enemy at the Gates. All said, Eastwood manages to put across a decent war movie with landscaped cinematography and well crafted screenplay. Without commenting on its nomination to the Academy Awards, American Sniper is worth watching!