Cooper shines in Eastwood's imperfect war drama

Rating: 7/10 (26 January 2015)

American Sniper tells the story of Chris Kyle, an Iraqi war veteran and Navy SEAL who during four tours of duty became known as America's most deadly sniper. A good 'ol boy from Texas who spent much of his early adulthood without purpose, attempting to be a cowboy and getting into fights. This all changes when our embassy's are bombed in Africa and the American public first hears of Al-Qaeda. Kyle finds his purpose and enlists in the Navy.
Bradley Cooper is excellent as Kyle and deserving of his third consecutive Oscar nod. The rest of the cast of primarily unknowns performs well under the steady direction of Clint Eastwood. Make no mistake that, although this is a tale of duty and sacrifice, Eastwood's conservative leanings are more than readily apparent. Also, the fact that it is based on Kyle's own book leaves us with a feeling we aren't being told the whole story, or at least not objectively.
Unfortunately, many people have a difficult time separating the soldier who is doing his job and following orders from the politics that sent him or her there. This clouds their view of what for the most part is an entertaining and well crafted film.
We feel for his family as they miss him each time he gets deployed and how they cope when Kyle comes home, struggling to find normalcy. Kyle is besieged with the sounds and visions of the battlefield when home and consistently dwells on his unfinished business overseas.
The combat scenes are well done and impactful. However, the constant reminder that he is "a legend" in the military community, from people he meets at home and abroad, gets to be a little tiresome after a while. I also thought his personal battle against a skilled Iraqi sharpshooter named "Mustafa" was a little ham-handed.
In the end Eastwood crafts a film that effectively shows the horrors of combat and how those horrors deeply affect the soldier's home life. I leave the decision of whether Kyle is an all-American Hero or perhaps something else, up to you.