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American Sniper (2014)

American Sniper  

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  1. 1. American Sniper



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An intense and effective examination of Chris Kyle, American Sniper avoids both politics and picking a side on war and instead looks at the man caught in the battle. The embellishments that have been made to make Kyle's story feel more "cinematic" work for the film, and it never once becomes preachy. The film's biggest strength is Bradley Cooper, giving what is easily his best performance yet (and I've been a big fan of his for years). It's a fully-realized performance that makes us understand Kyle's actions. The only other person in the cast of importance is Sienna Miller, who brings life to what could've been a thankless supportive-but-distanced wife part. Some of the pacing in the middle could've been strengthened while some sections could've been fleshed out a bit, which are really my only complaints about the film. This is easily Clint Eastwood's best movie since Million Dollar Baby, and is also one of the better war movies of the last several years altogether. A must-see just for Cooper's excellent performance alone. A-

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I enjoyed it and honestly liked it more than Selma (which I primarily liked for David Oyelowo's performance). I also won't question Cooper's nom after this because he is really unrecognizable in this, and for me to be able to lose the attachment of a big named actor's name and see them as their character says a lot.

I did think the pacing could have been a bit cleaner, but I won't complain because it was effective. It reminded me of Unbroken in that everything Unbroken screwed up on on telling the story of Jack O'Connell, American Sniper did right. Thematically they are somewhat similar in structure, but it simply felt like American Sniper was able to pull it off as a full cohesive story.

It also does a great job on not being about the war but being about the man and his reasonings and struggles. There is a sense of patriotism in it but it comes from the personality of the man and not the direction of Eastwood. Eastwood does a great job at keeping the unneeded controversy and politics out of the film.

The action scenes are very clean and are executed in a great manner, and it's overall really worth a watch, especially for Cooper.

B

Edited by The Panda
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F . Disturbing propaganda film . It basically makes a hero out of a psycho .i have read a synopsis of his book and he seems like a madman in the book . The fact that people like him are considered "heroes" in the u.s "fighting for freedom" makes me wanna vomit .

I feel sorry for Clint Eastwood , once a great film maker , who became "talk to the chair " . The fact that this movie was so hyped and is nominated for a ton of oscars speaks of itself . Bradley cooper is o.k, the rest of the cast awful esp. the wife part . It also looks cheap , in a bad way .

"First blood" was a far superior movie in showing what "war heroes" are really like in everyday life , and it is lighter than the book . "American sniper" is the exact opposite , glorifying the life of a mass murderer who was killing people in a foreign land, being part of an occupation force in a war that nobody understood the reason it happened . A pathological liar , his books was full of lies , who was bragging for killing people who were trying to loot anything in the Katrina disaster . His family still owes millions of $$ because of his lies in his book but "thankfully" the b.o results of this film will help them .

He admitted to being addicted to murder and the movie shows him sad and thoughtful after his murders . One of the most despicable movies of the last few years along with "pain and gain" .

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The film made the "American sniper" Chris Kyle out to be a  bona fide hero but I failed to see what was heroic about killing 160 enemies on foreign soil. It just made him an efficient soldier doing his job, nothing more and nothing less. 

 

Great acting from Bradley Cooper though

 

C-

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I saw this after watching Taken 3 last night, so glad I did to get the taste of that horrible movie out of my mouth.  But regardless of that, this movie was really good.

 

Other than a few idiots on my theater and some 12 year old girls giggling when the pre-sex scene came on, and the fake baby, there really wasn't much bad with this flick.

 

I don't think it took any stand on anything.  In fact, part of the movie was showing that how he felt was wrong, but I am not going to get into people's agendas about this movie.  That's for them and I don't have an agenda anyway.

 

Just as a movie, it was well done, well acted and pretty gritty at times.

 

I won't get much into it as I don't have a lot of time on here, but I give the movie at least an A-

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Great intense and emotional movie.  Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller were excellent.  That scene where they see the World Trade Center collapse on live TV was pretty harrowing because I remember watching the 2nd plane hit on live TV back in 2001 like it was yesterday.   Some have criticized that part as being gross propaganda for the Iraq War, I didn't see that at all, its one of the reasons why he became a Navy SEAL, I don't know how you can think it was making a case for being pro Iraq War, it didn't really take a stand one way or another, its about this guy and what he went through.  Some have said it doesn't focus on PSTD nearly enough(*cough* Devin Faraci *cough*), thats completely baffling to me because 1st and foremost this is a movie about the most lethal Sniper in US military over in Iraq and at the end he nearly breaks down mentally and starts helping vets and is even fucking murdered by a soldier he was trying to help suffering from severe PSTD, the ending montage is definitely the emotional high point of the movie. 

 

Some have said this movie lies all about Chris Kyle's "moral" side.  Really?  By how much?  In the movie he wears the Punisher Skull and his Squad paints them on the side of their Humvees and calls the people hes sniping animals and savages.  They also say the movie makes it seem like hes sorry about all the people hes killed over there when he says at the end "no thats not me no".  Take that however you will, but you can't say they completely ignored it.

 

I hope this legs it to 400m for the haters.

 

A

 

PS I think the Iraq War is the greatest foreign policy fuckup in US history that we're probably gonna be feeling the effects of for the next 50 years.  This sums it up perfectly:

george-bush-miss-me-yet.jpg

Edited by Ozymandias
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What I think is interesting is Eastwood gives a more complex look at Kyle than most people are crediting. There are many subtle details such as the speech at the beginning of wolves vs sheep vs sheep-dogs, and the fact Kyle carries that Bible but never in fact opens it. He primarily saw things as black and white, "Americans are good. Iraqis are bad," and Cooper shows that with the character, and so he personally felt justified. But he leaves the audience open to deciding for themselves if that is the truth, if Kyle was a sheep-dog, a wolf, a sheep, or in fact a mixture of all things.

He murdered and enjoyed it, an attribute described of the wolf.

He fought with the idealism of protecting the other soldiers, he did save American lives, like it or not. An attribute of the sheep-dog.

He had an idealized view of, "Our side is good and anything not American is evil." An attribute of a sheep.

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Just finished this. On the technical side it's a very good movie. Acting is top notch, the direction is quite good. I liked the way it was filmed, even though at some point it's starting to drag. But it gets over it.

 

Now the social side. First, I wanna ask other people who saw it how the hell is Kyle portrayed as a hero? I mean, people keep saying he is, but his character is (a few scenes aside, mostly the end ones) dislikable from start to finish. From the sheep-wolf-dog laughable speech of his father, to the constant using of the word 'savages' to describe the people in the oriental region as a whole (yep, not just the terrorists; at some point, Kyle asks his friend where did he get the ring for his wife; he says that it's from there, from Iraq, and Kyle asks: "What, from the savages?" - entirely ironic considering the kind of acts described in the movie), to the "greatest country on earth" line and many others (some of them really felt like cliches - especially the training part in the beginning - dear God :lol: ), the only way you can feel about the main character is disturbed. Also, constant use of the word "evil" is rather funny.

 

But I am glad that they showed the scenes from his childhood and so on because it makes an interesting case of how society (family, friends etc) shapes the individual; it shows you there might be some reason for which the guy ended up like he did.

I was disappointed they didn't show the scene of his death. I knew before seeing the movie how he died and it would have been a nice cycle for the movie; poetic justice in a way. 

 

Overall, entertaining movie.

 

C+ / B- 

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An interesting character study on PTSD, with a phenomenal performance from Bradley Cooper. Sienna Miller was also surprisingly strong. Gorgeous woman. It was intense, horrific, and I was always on the edge of my seat while watching the brutal fight scenes. But there was something off about the film. I didn't find it emotional at all, and knowing real facts about how Chris Kyle made the tribute to him at the end fall flat on its face.

 

B

 

But damn, they sugar-coated how Chris Kyle really was. I mean, sure, he wasn't pleasant in the film but the real man was a psychopath. 

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F . Disturbing propaganda film . It basically makes a hero out of a psycho .i have read a synopsis of his book and he seems like a madman in the book . The fact that people like him are considered "heroes" in the u.s "fighting for freedom" makes me wanna vomit .

I feel sorry for Clint Eastwood , once a great film maker , who became "talk to the chair " . The fact that this movie was so hyped and is nominated for a ton of oscars speaks of itself . Bradley cooper is o.k, the rest of the cast awful esp. the wife part . It also looks cheap , in a bad way .

"First blood" was a far superior movie in showing what "war heroes" are really like in everyday life , and it is lighter than the book . "American sniper" is the exact opposite , glorifying the life of a mass murderer who was killing people in a foreign land, being part of an occupation force in a war that nobody understood the reason it happened . A pathological liar , his books was full of lies , who was bragging for killing people who were trying to loot anything in the Katrina disaster . His family still owes millions of $$ because of his lies in his book but "thankfully" the b.o results of this film will help them .

He admitted to being addicted to murder and the movie shows him sad and thoughtful after his murders . One of the most despicable movies of the last few years along with "pain and gain" .

Look just because you don't like the guy it doesn't mean you have to be so biased. Performances were awful? Bradley just okay? Yeah you have clearly let your personal feeling cloud your judgement and have supported this movie with your money just to do so

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And btw I doubt there are many military guys out there that don't enjoy killing people otherwise they picked the wrong career.

 

That's pretty fucked up. Being a military guy because killing people gives you a boner? That's the definition of a psychopath but without the hardships of being put on a trial for your crimes...

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.

I hope this legs it to 400m for the haters.

 

A

 

PS I think the Iraq War is the greatest foreign policy fuckup in US history that we're probably gonna be feeling the effects of for the next 50 years.  This sums it up perfectly:

george-bush-miss-me-yet.jpg

+1

 

Absolutely agree with the Iraq war. It was deliberately mounted by Cheney and gang using false/made up claims against the Iraq regime. Saddam while a brutal dictator kept the far more dangerous jihadis and blatant terror sponsor-er Iran at bay.

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I'm downgrading to a B-, I started reading into the guy's autobiography because I was curious why so many people on here were mad about the portrayal.  Action scenes are really well crafted and entertaining, and it does do a good job at showing the marriage relation, but wow Eastwood really, really idealized him.  I figured he sugarcoated him a little, but I was disgusted with the man I was reading from in the autobiography.  

 

The movie wouldn't have sold if he portrayed it accurately, I understand, but this movie really did glorify a man who had a sick love for killing.  Not exploring that aspect is a really bad move in my opinion.

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He had a love for killing because of what he went through.  None of us can relate to what he went through.  None of us have had to make those kinds of decisions.  None of us have seen a kid killed with a drill, up close.  None of us have seen their friends, brothers, killed and have their brains blown out all over the wall.  None of us have walked into a room and found a man hanging in chains with his feet cut off.  

 

Sure you can be disgusted at what he says, but this film at least gives you a window into what he saw, felt and eventually turned into.  Of course he thinks they are all savages, look at what he had to endure.  As many of you know, I'm not the biggest supporter of the military, the official story of 9/11 and so on.  But this guy did what was asked of him and he did it to defend his nation and his friends.  Is it really a shock that he had a penchant for killing?  That's what they made him.  They asked him to be a killer and now some of you are shocked and disgusted that he isn't a great person?  How can you go to war and see what he did and then come out well adjusted on the other side?  Until we walk in his shoes, I don't think we can know how he felt.  

 

This is one of the best films I've ever seen and Cooper gave one of the best performances I've ever seen.  Miller was stunning as well.  This was a total anti-war film and there were a lot of scenes and a lot of lines that went to great lengths to be anti-war.  This might on the surface look like blind jingoism but it's not.  Even the bad guy sniper was shown to be a parallel of Kyle.  He too had a family and he too felt like he was protecting his comrades.  They both had a job to do.  

 

As for Cooper's performance, his coming undone was unbelievably frightening.  The few quiet and not so subtle scenes of his PTSD were riveting.  The tire drill, his furtive look at a truck with a middle eastern man passing him, the dog, all shows him becoming more and more imbalanced from the war.  And yet he felt that he had to do what he did because it was his duty.  I'm sure the book makes him out to be much more egotistical and maniacal than the film but as I said, unless you can see what he sees and have to make the decisions that he's made, there's no way for us to know how he feels or how we would react in the same way.

 

For example, I've been driving bus for 8 months (he was in Iraq for about 4 years) and already I'm getting preconceived notions towards certain types of people.  It's typically the same people that try to get on for free, show me phony or expired transfers or just plain try to sneak on for free.  So there are times when I become jaded and I have to remind myself that it's wrong to be that way.  That's from minor issues.  He had to deal with kids getting killed with drills and men getting their feet cut off, of course he was going to be adversely affected by it.

 

I originally thought Birdman might be the best film of the year of the films nominated, but that has changed.  American Sniper is the best of the bunch and in my opinion, it's one of the best I've ever seen.

 

10/10

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