Review: American Sniper

4th January 2015

By Daryl Bär

Based on the real life of Chris Kyle (the most lethal sniper in US history). The film depicts Kyle’s tour of duty in Iraq and his struggles to be a good father and husband despite his deployment.

Taking into consideration the relatively alien and abstract notion of Right-Wing American patriotism here in the United Kingdom one must obviously account for factors lost in translation. The sheer gung-ho, all ‘murican hero aspect of this biopic is enough to put many off of this feature, or at the very least tarnish people’s opinions of the film-making and performances. This motion picture sits squarely on the shoulders of the impeccable Bradley Cooper, a man who dissolves into the role of the mythologized Chris Kyle. His Texan drawl and nuanced performance fleshes out a dramatized ideal of a man perhaps best left committed to memory and ink.

Unfortunately, Clint Eastwood et al take many liberties with the “true story” aspects for the sake of telling a more interesting cinematic version of events. In spite of some nail biting scenes depicting the chaos of modern warfare there are some truly eye rolling moments and clichéd dialogue. Without giving too much away, when an ancillary character mentions proposing to his sweetheart back home, you know he’s got about as much chance of surviving as the red shirts in Star Trek. In addition to this there’s a phone-call back home to Sienna Miller DURING an assault, which strains credulity and a pointless slo-mo bullet effect that is better suited to a Korn music video than a dramatic war-hero biopic.

But the protracted segments in Iraq are the glue that binds, leaving the US-bound, family scenes between Cooper and Miller languid and middling. It’s only later when post-traumatic stress disorder is touched upon that there is any real notion of Chris Kyle’s pain. His inability to reconcile his actions against his perceived inaction is fascinating but the notion is frittered away for the sake of pacing. Leaving politics and emotional puppetry off of the table American Sniper is a standard biopic with one or two standout scenes that appears about as factually relevant as Mel Gibson’s Braveheart. Not exactly Black Hawk Down but certainly nowhere near as naff as Lone Survivor.

Arrives On Blu-Ray ™, DVD & Limited Edition Steelbook On 1^stJune

Available On Digital HD From 18^th May

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