A True American Classic, no matter what anyone says

Rating: 8/10 (23 February 2015)

Most people turn the other cheek at certain criticisms, especially when they come from the internet. However, I take issue with some of what people are saying about both American Sniper and the subject of the film, Chris Kyle. I will get to all of that in a moment, but first, about the movie.
American Sniper tells the story of the late Chris Kyle, a Texan who became a Navy Seal and the most lethal sniper in American history. With 160 confirmed kills out of 220, Kyle became a force with which to be reckoned. When he was honorably discharged, he spent time close to home and working with PTSD soldiers. It's a shame that he got killed while doing so. The movie powerfully tells this story through eyes that are rarely seen in cinema nowadays: through that of the soldier.
Clint Eastwood's direction and Bradley Cooper's portrayal of Kyle do stand out as a powerful tribute to the sniper, nicknamed "Legend" by his peers. Cooper's Texan ascent and the beard made him really blend in and take control of the character. The movie and the portrayal definitely deserved the nominations as both show the harsh realities of war. The radical extremists that the American forces had to fight used actual civilians for weapons. The opening scene has Kyle scoping down a mother giving her son a grenade to unleash on a tank of U.S. troops. Hell, there was a scene where he put a boy trying to lift an RPG in the cross hairs begging he put it down. All the while, the movie goes back and forth between the war in Iraq and the war back home. You witness his personal life get rocky as he takes a lot of it with him. He can't escape the harshness of what he had witnessed, but he never regretted a second of it.
The movie is incredibly powerful all the way to the end which brought tears to my eyes as you hear Ennio Morricone's "The Funeral" play the solemn memorial trumpet tune to clips of Kyle's funeral. Just when Kyle started to feel more at peace back home, tragedy struck.
The issues that I have with the movie weren't necessarily in the writing or directing, but rather the events that were left out or dramatized. Kyle was initially turned down by the SEALs because of an injury sustained in his arm. He never joined as the result of the terrorist attack in Libya; he always wanted to join. It just launched his chances. Certain characters were created as amalgamations of other people.
That being said, the facts still remain: Chris Kyle killed over a hundred enemy combatants; undoubtedly ruthless sociopath extremists that killed not just Americans but their own as well. Kyle saved many American lives with what he did on the battlefield as well as off it. The movie is an incredibly strong film that shows the true testament to the ugliness of war and the struggle to find peace.
However, some people find issue with the movie's portrayal of the war and Kyle. Not because the movie tried to portray the war as just because it didn't. The events in the movie (Libya, 9/11) weren't from the perspective of Americans but from the soldier. The issue that these people had was that it didn't condemn the war as unjust. It didn't portray the American government as crooked e as movies like "In the Valley of Elah" or "Syriana" did. Leftist critics like Matt Taibbi and Cynthia Taub miss the point of the film or worse try to twist it.
OAF Nation released an article that succinctly makes the point: this is not a movie from the perspective of civilians or from journalist but rather from the soldier. The soldier didn't care whether Saddam Hussein had any correlation with the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. All it meant was the possibility of going into theater. Every soldier goes in wishing that he or she could prevent the deaths of fellow soldiers and friends because nothing is worse than seeing a loved one die let alone in combat.
The worst example of twisting the situation comes from everyone labeling Kyle as a "killer". Yes, he killed Iraqis, but he killed Iraqis who killed Iraqis as well as Americans. Why defend the sociopaths? The biggest issue was that Kyle had no regrets for what he did. No kidding, he didn't. Nothing is pretty in war. People want to kill you because you believe in something that they don't and see you as the threat for such a reason. He saw an evil in these people and wanted it to be fought. He didn't kill innocents; those that he killed intended to kill Americans. So why do people consider their own to be the villain in this fight?
American Sniper deserves the accolades it receives and more. It deserves the box office revenue it received. Bradley Cooper deserves the recognition for the portrayal, and Chris Kyle deserves better than what he's been getting since the movie came out in December.