Intense and incredibly focused account of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2014)

American SNIPER (2014) ***1/2 Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kevin Lacz, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardirict, Eric Ladin, Luke Grimes, Keir O'Donnell. Intense and incredibly focused account of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (a clear-eyed turn by Cooper) and his four tours of duty fighting in the current war against terrorism as a sharpshooter whose deadly accuracy and skills overshadow (and nearly overwhelm) his domestic life with wife Miller (does the best with the somewhat pedestrian character she's given) in between stints in hell. Filmmaker Clint Eastwood' bare-bones, yeoman like craftsmanship is tailor-made for the quick moving, adrenaline pumping screenplay by Jason Hall (based on Kyle's book collaborated with Scott McEwen and James Defelice) that trims the fat of patriotism in favor of a good man in a bad place echoing SERGEANT YORK and BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY.