Watchable action-drama with glaring character omissions

Rating: 6/10 (10 June 2015)

While American Sniper is an entertaining movie, I don't think it's as thought-provoking as I'd like it to be. This seems like a wasted opportunity to me. Instead of an interesting character study, we instead get what is mostly an action movie, with some hammy drama thrown in. Chris Kyle always felt in the right even when he was clearly wrong. He seemed a nearly flawless man, when in actuality he was quite flawed. He's a proved liar, and slanderer, yet the film portrays Kyle as some kind of flawless American Hero. At no point in the story did I feel the tension Eastwood was trying to invoke. The situation with his wife, and child, are clearly meant to be stressed, nigh on the breaking point, but it never felt like the weight was there to back up the performances. Everything felt so safe, and not at all stressful. It's shot beautifully, and there are some interesting visual choices. One example: a sandstorm where we can see just as little as the soldiers can. Little touches like this make American Sniper at least enjoyable for one watch, but repeat viewing is unnecessary. If you can get past the glaring omission of some of Kyle's less-desirable character traits, you'll most likely enjoy the film.