American Sniper
Director-Clint Eastwood
Last Looks:
American Sniper is the real life story of Navy Seal and War hero Chris Kyle through his four stints fighting in the war in Iraq. After the trial finally concluded on the death of Chris Kyle I was happy for the family getting some kind of closure. I know there is no replacement for a fallen son, brother, husband , father war hero etc. I was just glad justice had been served. My thoughts and prayers are with the Kyle family. I also hope this experience opens up eyes on post war psychological disorders and encourages more to help veterans regain there stability and find a place in society.
The Breakdown:
American sniper begins with Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) behind the scope of a gun when a woman and a child come into his vision. The woman hands the kid a grenade so Chris releases a shot and as soon as he does we cut to a young Chris Kyle and his father hunting a deer. Chris's dad stresses to him and his brother the difference between sheep, wolves and sheepdogs while inserting shots of Chris sticking up for his little brother in a playground fight. This is when Chris is instilled with the value of only using violence only when it is necessary.
We cut to an older Chris and his little brother performing as bull riding cowboys. When they make it back home Chris encounters his girlfriend having sex with another man. Chris immediately beats the guy up and kicks him out of the house. His girlfriend claims she only cheated to get attention and she is kicked out of the house also. Chris realizes his life as being a cowboy is going nowhere. He begins watching the news of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings and it inspires him to become a Navy Seal. Chris goes through intense military training. Meanwhile at a bar Chris meets his soon to be wife Taya (Sienna Miller) and after a drinking game they begin dating. The more Chris and Taya get closer the more Chris's shooting ability begins to increase. Chris and Taya wake up one morning to watching the horrific events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Chris knows he is going to have to go to war and decides that he and Taya should get married so they wed shortly after. Chris then begins begins his first tour of Iraq. We cut back to the first scene of the film where Chris sees the woman hand a grenade to the kid. Chris shoots the kid and the woman dead. We now learn that this marks Chris's first two kills and the woman and child were attacking U.S. Marines. Chris then becomes more comfortable being a sniper. It is starting to become apparent that Chris is killing more then all of the other snipers combined. While talking to Taya over the phone who is now pregnant, Chris begins to comfort her and downplay the fact he is killing people. Chris is finally told that his next target is the leader of al quaeda Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Chris and a team of Seals infiltrate a man that has insight on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's right hand man nicknamed the butcher. While riding through Iraq Chris while on the phone with Taya is attacked she begins freaking out.
Chris goes back home and tries to get reacclimatized with society and with his wife who is almost due now. Taya begins to worry about Chris and his behavior. Chris wont talk about anything that happened in Iraq. Chris is starting to feel bad because even though he feels the obligation to his wife and his newborn son that he needs to be in Iraq serving his country and finishing the job he started. He feels the world carries on as if there is not a war going on. Chris goes back to Iraq for his second tour and begins his mission to find the butcher again. Cut to Chris after a few years with his son who is now a toddler. Chris is approached by a guy whose life he saved. While at a tire shop every loud noise begins to trigger an emotional response. Chris has another baby this time a girl. While watching his daughter in the newborn room Chris notices the nurses are not tending to his daughter who is crying and this makes Chris extremely upset. Taya tells Chris she feels alone because he is there physically but not mentally. She begins to tell him that the war is changing him. Chris goes back to Iraq for his third stint where his car is attacked again. The butcher shoots one of his seal members injuring him and killing another. The Seal team decides to regroup. While Chris and Taya lay in bed she finally asks him why does he do this. She is starting to unravel and lets him know that if he goes back to Iraq that her and the kids wont be there when he gets back. A shaken Chris goes back to Iraq for his fourth tour. He calls his wife just to hear her voice and to tell his kids that he loves them. Chris knows the butcher is close and knows this is his time to strike however his comrades inform Chris he needs to stand down because they are not well equipped for a battle but Chris feels he has the kill and goes for it. Chris kills the butcher but it gives away his teams cover and they are immediately attacked. In an intense shootout the Seal crew looks outnumbered. Chris calls his wife and tells her that he is ready to come home. The crew is then rescued by a manufactured sandstorm and Chris returns home for good.
Chris sits in front of a blank television screen but all he hears is the shootouts of war in Iraq and helicopters instead of his kids playing. Chris sees a dog taking down his son and Chris immediately tries to kill the dog until he is stopped by his wife. Taya sets Chris up with a psychiatrist. Chris had spent over 1000 days and had over 160 kills while in Iraq. Chris justifies his killing because he was saving his US soldiers and protecting the country he loves. Chris is inspired to help a group of wounded veterans and begins to learn to appreciate life after Iraq and how to live life to its fullest again. Chris and his family move to a new house. Chris begins to regain his normality and plays with his kids regularly now. He teaches his son how to hunt. Chris and his wife also regain their intimacy where Taya tells Chris she is happy to have her husband back. Chris tells Taya that he is going to the shooting range with some of the wounded veterans. The film ends informing us that Chris is killed later on that day.
Nose candy:
1. " 3 types of people sheep wolves and sheepdogs" -Wayne Kyle
2. Basically every line in the Navy Seal training scene
3. " Im making memories by myself with no one to share them with even when you are here you are not here. I see you feel you but you are not here." -Taya Kyle
4. "The thing that haunts me the most are all the guys I couldn't save."
" Im coming home." -Chris Kyle
Performances:
Sienna Mille-Normally the wife in these movies gets the reputation of she was only the housewife. I beg to differ Mille had an incredible transformation from the sassy young girl taking shots at the bar to the nuturing mother who was an emotional wreck trying to get her husband to return back to normality. She showed great range and had remarkable performance.
Bradley Cooper- Hands down this was the best Bradley Cooper performance I have ever seen. I think everyone knows he is a comedic genius from movies such as Wedding Crashers and The Hangover franchise. Even though I know this was not his first, American Sniper was the first ever dramatic role Ive seen him in and he was brilliant. From the party going cowboy to the courageous war hero to the traumatized veteran to the loving family man. Cooper transitioned through out this film very well. The scene when Cooper was in the delivery room going irate at the nurses failing to tend to his daughter was incredible. Cooper's best actor nomination at the Academy Awards was well deserved. The Kyle family should be proud.
Style Points:
I thought American Sniper was very well shot. I enjoyed the through the scope shots as one of the biggest unfair criticisms of this film was that this movie glorified Chris Kyle killing women and children. But this shot explained the harsh realities of war and put you in Kyle's position. It's not that Kyle wanted to kill he was put in the situation to save his fellow soldiers as well as protect his country. Even though I never experienced military training, I think those shots were done well as it showed all Kyle had to go through just to be a sniper. The catch up method was cool. Aside-There is probably some real good film term for just the "catch up" method but this is when the film begins with a scene from the movie then reverts back to an initial point then revisits that scene at some later point in the movie. I thought that was significant because we saw the relevance of that first scene as that was what marked Kyle's first two kills. I thought another cool shot was when one of Kyle's fellow soldiers was shot so Kyle put him in the back of the trunk and the next few minutes was in the dark as the car rode trying to escape a violent war zone.
In any movie where there is a lot of shooting and explosions, it is easy for directors to overdue it with special effects but I thought it was good that there was not much through out the this film until Kyle's shot that killed the Butcher. The way the shot was slowed down as it maneuvered through the air until it finally landed made that moment stand out so much more as finally Kyle's mission was complete. Even though it was kind of hard to see and keep up with all of the action the sandstorm rescue scene provided a lot of chaos and suspense. It kept me as a viewer interested as I forgot I was watching a movie for a split second and was beginning to think was the navy seal team even going to make it out alive. The overhead bedroom shots with Kyle and Taya were good too as the couple poured out their true feelings towards each other. Also one of my favorite shots was the scene when Kyle came home for good and he was sitting in his living room in front of the blank television screen with his kids playing so loudly behind him but all Kyle could hear was gunshots and helicopters. I was literally looking around the theatre like is anyone else watching what I am watching? Really what better way to showcase how traumatized Kyle was after his journey. Finally the original footage of Kyle's funeral was well inserted to end the film. I think it is always good to remind us as viewers the impact or legacy Kyle left behind by providing real footage of all the support and commemoration.
The Verdict:
American Sniper is a great portrayel of War Hero Chris Kyle. I think Clint Eastwood did a great job bringing this story to life which is not always the easiest thing to do from adaptions from books. The thing I like about this film was that it was more then just a war film. It is about family and also the struggles veterans face when they return to society. I think one thing great movies do is make you change views on things or make you realize something that you may have never noticed. I had that revelation in a scene when Kyle returned home from his first stint in Iraq where Kyle was claiming as if the whole world continues on as if there is not a war going on and he had trouble adjusting to life because he felt that his purpose was defending his country. I think so many times society me included take our military so much for granted. No that they are looking for a pat on the back or brownie points for every little thing but they are not shown nearlllyyy enough grattitude and respect for their effort. I would like to thank all of the armed forces for everything they do to protect me and my family as well as this country. If you are looking for a film that is action packed with great acting performances as well as some sentimental moments this film definitely does not disappoint.
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