American Sniper

This film is just over two hours of tense military action with Bradley Cooper at the wheel. Based on Chris Kyle's autobiography, American Sniper follows the life of Kyle as he struggles to maintain his role as a father and husband whilst on tour of duty in Iraq. He becomes notorious for his sniping skills and throws himself into his military life, leaving his growing family to fend for themselves. The film takes an interesting look at the effect of military life on those left at home and resonates deeper than many war films because the story and characters are rooted in truth. The journey is touching at parts and is a seemingly honest interpretation of patriotism. And although I've never been completely comfortable with the idea of war and military invasions of middle eastern countries, I find these sorts of films fascinating to watch.

Bradley Cooper was a fantastic choice to play the lead and carried the film from the outset. There were no small surprise cameos which allowed for the films focus to be purely on the plot rather than big names to draw in audiences. Cooper and Sienna Miller, who plays his wife, were big enough themselves and I'm sure many people will flock to the cinema to see Cooper's new bulkier physique. Other notable names who made an appearance were Kyle Gallner, Eric Close and Jonathan Groff. It's rare these days that a cast works so fluidly together but that is certainly the case with American Sniper. In a strange way, the actors never distracted from the action on screen, which can so often happen in large blockbuster films. One thing I did notice was how different Sienna Miller looks in this film. I've never payed much attention to her but I'm pretty sure her face has changed. It could just as easily be age as anything else but I couldn't help but notice something was off. Needless to say, she's still beautiful. 

Directed by Clint Eastwood, I think American Sniper will be a popular war films for years to come. It's heartbreaking at times but displays bold attempts of bravery and sheer determination from the American military. The most interesting choice on behalf of the film makers was the length of the scenes involving Kyle's family as the film progressed. I felt this showed how his priorities were changing and was a visual representation of how consuming war can be both mentally and physically. That's not to say that Kyle didn't love his family but instead I'm implying that as he spent more time involved in the military it started to play a larger role in his life and was no longer limited to the 6 months, 12 months or 24 months spent in the enemy's backyard. But the most heartbreaking moment of the film was the closing statement before the credits followed by actual footage and photographs of the real Chris Kyle. Kyle was killed by a veteran he was trying to help. It must have been devastating for his family and the film pays tribute in these closing scenes, showing how much of a hero the real Kyle was.

The last war film I enjoyed as much as American Sniper was Zero Dark Thirty in 2013 and I highly recommend both to anyone with a fascination with modern adaptation of true events. My next step now will likely be to research the real Chris Kyle to see how accurate the film truly is. There is no denying that the character is interesting, I'm just hoping the real deal had just as much to offer.