Great Directing, Great Acting but a 1 dimensional disaster of a movie just the same!

Rating: 5/10 (17 January 2015)

Sometimes when reviewing films it helps if one tries to sum the film up in one word. This is one such film....SHEEPDOG!
From his early childhood Texan Chris Kyle has been reared to obey orders and not question. An early scene in the film sets the tone. Over dinner his father gives Chris the choice of being a wolf, sheep or sheepdog. Holding a belt in his hand (to thrash them with) his father then continues to eliminate wolves and sheep from possible career paths for Kyle and his brother.
Eventually Chris joins the US SEALS as a sniper to nurture his sheepdog skills further. From here stationed the film follows him home and away as he does four tours in Iraq. The film descends into the Jingoistic one dimensional film that you thought Hollywood had stopped making. The bad guys are all on the other side. Its true Chris Kyle killed women and children but it was justified since they were "Savages" who did not have the right to protect their soil. The few Iraqis that did co-operate were either duplicitous or greedy for money (by the way the got what they deserved, everybody else did according to Chris Kyle's autobiography on which the film is closely based)
I've been watching Bradley Cooper over 10 years now since his regular appearance in the acclaimed TV series 'Alias'. Every Big screen performance has increased his stature as an actor able to take on a variety of roles. Cooper's Portrayal of Chris Kyle here is no exception. He perfectly plays the character with the required weight (physically and emotionally). He tries to show this racist "hero" as a man with pent up frustration and Angst. But the character is too one dimensional. You are left with no sympathy for him. How can you when a man says he had no regrets about killing over 150 people. No all 166 bullets were perfectly justified he was happy to meet his maker when he questioned him (his words not mine).
This sheepdog was just protecting his herd.
At various times the film tried to turn this into a duel with an enemy sniper but this had been done already with great success by the film Enemy at the Gate with Jude Law.
In reality the film was more like the Nazi sniper cinema promo in Tarantino's Inglorious B*stards.That was another film which glorified a sniper, however that was done to show the inhumanity of the audience. A testament to those who rate this film so highly now perhaps?
The directing was flawless and the action sequences were taught and expertly done.
Call me idealistic but when I watch a film I like to see a biopic that inspires or educates me. This simple Good v Evil line should be kept to animation or superhero genre. I like a so called true story to leave me feeling that I was somehow a better member of the human race. I thought we had seen the end of jingoistic and bigoted views of the Iraq conflict albeit glossily done after all it is over 13 years since 9/11 and even the US government admitted it tortured, detained and killed people inhumanely in an unjustified war. In this film only the other side did atrocities like that..so says the sheepdog.
Mr Eastwood you are a veteran cinema actor/director. You can pick and choose any project. I expect better from you. Please use your skills wisely and leave the legacy that justifies the Giant of cinema that you are.
This US Army promo will receive awards and acclaim but hey it just illustrates everything that's wrong with the world!