American Sniper
Hey folks welcome to another exciting Casual Friday. This weekend’s going to be pretty packed with films. I have five on the list, so you’ll be seeing some more reviews up Saturday and Sunday to spread it out. I’m going to attack these in the order of what I think people will be wanting to see this weekend, and I think American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner will be one of them.
American Sniper centers on the true story of Chris Kyle, the Navy SEAL Sniper Known as the Legend. As a SEAL Sniper, he made a total of over 200 confirmed kills. We get to watch Kyle traverse through four tours and his journey through life in those moments when he’s stateside. It was an emotionally intense character study on the lasting effects of war and what a soldier must do mentally to get back what is lost sometimes in wartime.
My favorite part of this character is that for most of the film he spends avoiding the work that he’s done. Kyle’s view on it all was that he just wanted to protect his fellow soldiers and his country. There’s an interesting moment at the beginning of the film that takes a pick into Chris’ childhood where he’s fighting a bully who’s picking on his little brother, afterwards they are at the dinner table and Chris’ father teaches them a very real lesson.
There are three kinds of people in the world: sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. Sheep don’t believe that there is evil in the world, wolves are the predators that prey on those unsuspecting sheep and who commit evil, and sheepdogs are blessed with the aggression of the wolves but possess the bravery to protect the world from evil.
It’s a moment that shapes Chris Kyle for the rest of his life. Its that sense of duty that drives every aspect of his life.
Bradley Cooper was brilliant as Chris Kyle. The precision of his performance was an amazing thing to behold. Cooper has always been one of those actors that I feel has an incredible dedication to the work that he does. In his profession he demonstrates as much dedication as the man he portrays. I see exactly why his name is in the Oscar nominations list as best actor.
Watching him and his exchanges with Sienna Miller, who plays his wife, Taya, was enjoyable. The pair really create grounded and lasting emotional moments as they deal with Chris’ progressive withdrawal each time he returns from a tour. American Sniper takes a look at what soldiers and their families have to deal with when they return home.
It’s really the performances that make American Sniper as incredible as it is. Normally I rave about the direction of the film, but, to be honest, it was pretty average. That surprised me the most considering that it was Clint Eastwood directing. I would still tell you to buy your tickets for this one. American Sniper was an emotionally involved film that’s worth every cent, and t’s clear that the people love it because even the first showings were packed.