Little too much 'Murica

Rating: 7/10 (10 March 2015)

Quickie Review:
After the events of 9/11 Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), who initially wanted nothing more than to be a cowboy felt the need to use his talent with a rifle to help the American army. So he joins the SEALs and becomes one of the best snipers recruited in American history. However, as the war starts to take a toll on him he is torn between his duty as a soldier and responsibility as a husband with children. There is no doubt Clint Eastwood is an excellent director, and he clearly pulled a performance from Bradley Cooper of the same caliber. Controversies regarding the real Chris Kyle aside, it is still hard to ignore some of the bias in the film. Nevertheless, the movie itself is well shot and acted, delivering some tense moments. In that regard American Sniper gains not all but some of my praise.
Full Review:
When going into watch the movie, I was fully aware of the controversies surrounding Chris Kyle as he was in real life versus how he is depicted in this film. However, I'm not here to judge the real Chris Kyle, I'm here to share my thoughts on the movie. That'd being said some of the aspects of the movie makes it hard to ignore the politics. Nevertheless I want to make it clear that all of my views will still pertain to the film.
American Sniper is a very well-directed film both in terms of the action and the character drama. There were many moments in the movie where you feel the silent tension of making a decision as a sniper. I thought the weight behind some of the decisions to pull the trigger was captured perfectly. Even I who never held a gun in my life (except in the virtual battlefields of video games) wondered what I'd do if I were in his situation. Of course, there are some embellishment of explosions and such, but as a whole the shootouts felt grounded with some sense of consequence. Bradley Cooper did a great job in this film. He was able to portray the struggle of being veteran in a nuanced manner. The fact he has PTSD is not hammered over head for the audience. So was he Oscar worthy? Well no, I could think of two other actors that could've taken his spot in the nomination. But that is a topic for another long conversation, so I won't elaborate on that.
As for the problems I had with the film, there's only one but a pretty significant one. The movie is heavily biased and I am not even referring to Chris Kyle because I set that controversy aside to enjoy the film. Not once are we shown the "good" guys of the other side. Apart from one translator, every single non-American in this film is either a terrorist or only share information when forced to. That can't possibly be the reality. Dare I say it, at times I was reminded of the mock sniper propaganda movie from Inglorious Basterds. I have friends and family in America, and of course I know most people wouldn't be blinded by the bias. Then again let's be honest here, there are people out there who will take this movie a bit too literally. That's why I think it's a little irresponsible on the filmmaker's part to completely ignore the Iraqi contribution to the American army in the war effort, some of which the real Chris Kyle benefited from. Imagine if we had seen a more fleshed depiction of the Iraqi people. Perhaps a family that is also struggling between wanting to help the Americans and keeping their relatives safe from the terrorists. Those parallels would have deeply enriched the movie.
I recognize I did touch upon some politics here, but it had to be addressed. Yes there are moments where the movie screams 'Murica!' Still Bradley Cooper's performance and the intense action resulted in an engaging film. I like the movie overall, I just think there was a missed opportunity here to show the contribution of the Iraqi side as well.
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