Brain Wanted More After Watching American Sniper

As a movie fan, I'm a little ashamed to say that I saw my first Oscar nominated movie over the weekend.  My wife and I watched American Sniper, the Clint Eastwood directed film about famed U.S. sniper Chris Kyle.  Much has been written and said about what Chris Kyle was, and wasn't.  I'm not going to re-hash all that here.  My review isn't trying to make any political statement.  There were parts of this movie I loved, but after viewing it, my feeling was that I wanted there to be more.

First off, Bradley Cooper is fantastic as Kyle in this movie.  I literally forgot it was Cooper on the screen when I was watching.  He was completely engrossed in the role.  Kudos to Sienna Miller too as his wife in the film.  She had many emotional scenes that were fantastic.  The scenes of war and battle were intense and nerve racking.  So many of the split second decisions that Kyle had to make in the heat of battle were excruciating to watch.  I can't imagine what they were like to go through first hand.  At the conclusion of the movie, there was actual footage of Chris Kyle's funeral procession and the ceremony.  It was a stark reminder of the ending of his story.  An ending that at the request of his widow, was left out of the movie.

American Sniper isn't the complete story of Chris Kyle.  It is the story of his tours, and the story of him trying to come to grips with what he did on those tours.  If you view the movie in that frame, I believe that it was very well done.  I felt like the film could have focused more on what Kyle was feeling and thinking about what he had done.  I wanted more details on how he dealt with his PTSD, and how that led him to help others with the same problems.  The film only briefly touched on that.  Some people complain that the film is propaganda and glorifies the violence of war.  I didn't find that to be true at all.  It showed the agony that comes with every kill, and the horrible decisions that come with them.  Others are angry because they think the movie over glorifies Chris Kyle.  Yes, the film makes no secret of his record number of kills, or the fact his nickname was "The Legend."  But I disagree that it makes him out to be some super hero.  Kyle served his country, just like so many other brave men and women.  He excelled at his job.  But you could clearly see that he paid a price for what he went through.  Kyle was no super hero.  He's human just like the rest of us.

I thought American Sniper was a good movie, but not great in my opinion.  It wasn't the complete story of Chris Kyle.  What the movie did do, was make you once again appreciate all that our armed forces do to keep us safe.  Whether you agree with the politics or not.  These people are doing their job.  God bless them all.