Another American Propaganda Piece That's Nothing More Or Less

Rating: Null/10 (21 February 2015)

Out of the 8 films nominated for Best Picture Oscar this year, 4 of them chronicle the lives of notable personalities, first being the renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, second is the legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, third being the great civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma, & finally we have the deadliest sniper in US military history, Chris Kyle, in American Sniper.
Based on Chris Kyle's memoir of the same name, American Sniper tells the story of the decorated United States Navy SEAL marksman who served 4 tours in Iraq War & earned the notorious tag of the most lethal American sniper with 160 confirmed kills. The film adaptation briefly goes through segments of his life, his time in Iraq as well as the difficulties he faced in readjusting to civilian life & domestic responsibilities after returning home from his duty.
Directed by Clint Eastwood, the film is a one-sided perspective on the subject of Iraq War that depicts all Iraqis as dehumanized savages, is brimming with American glorification, even tries to justify United States' moral policing habit on the world stage when that nation could really use some of that in its own backyard, and just like Lone Survivor which was released over a year ago, is nothing more than a mere propaganda piece made exclusively for American audience.
The technical aspects are finely executed but none of its elements have anything that can make them stand apart from other examples of the genre. The cast comprises of Bradley Cooper & Sienna Miller, and the rest of its supporting cast simply exists. Cooper chips in strongly in the role of Chris Kyle & adds another impressive act to his résumé while Miller is brilliant as Kyle's wife who becomes increasingly concerned with the evident change in her husband's personality.
On an overall scale, American Sniper neither succeeds as one of the best examples of its genre nor is amongst Eastwood's best works as a director. However, you have to give it to the 84-year old filmmaker who still isn't showing any signs of slowing down & despite being a very mediocre film in my opinion, its combat sequences nevertheless manage to elevate its entertainment factor to a level that's probably enough to satisfy the majority of mainstream audience.
Undoubtedly the weakest nomination in both Best Picture & Best Actor category at the upcoming Academy Awards, and quite unworthy of its recent praise as well considering that there were far too many better films & more compelling performances to come out in 2014, American Sniper might be raking in millions at the box-office right now but content wise, it has nothing new in store for those who are looking for a fresher outlook on the subject of war.