American Sniper Review

Grade: B+
One-Liner: Strong in combat, weak in real life.

Would it be too on the nose to say American Sniper hit its mark? Eastwood managed to make a movie about a controversial war that didn't once debate the war itself. Instead, it focused on the journey of Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), a man who felt a calling to serve and protect his country, never once questioning why he was there.

The war scenes from Kyle's four tours in Iraq were strong, filled with suspense, unpredictable attacks, graphic deaths, and challenging in-the-moment decisions, all navigated by the steady hand of Cooper, who both physically and emotionally transformed for the role. The Oscar-nominated actor made a huge departure from his neurotic Silver Linings Playbook character to embody the stoic, honorable Kyle, whose struggles with post-traumatic stress were well-documented in the film.

Cooper managed to give one of his best performances to date — a tough feat for someone playing such a detached soldier. Unlike recent Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club, Cooper didn't get that moment of raw despair — his character's militaristic reactions were programmed too deep — but he still pulled off the role, diving into it in ways other actors couldn't.

As gripping as the overseas scenes were, Eastwood failed to capture the complexities of Kyle's wife Taya in the underdeveloped role, portrayed by Sienna Miller. She starts off the film a headstrong woman, who has a distaste for Navy SEALS and seemingly all men in the military. Taya then goes on to marry Chris before he is deployed and gives birth to his son. Each time he returns home, she expresses her concern at how aloof and distant he has become, and yet she still gets pregnant with another kid — not the best idea if you're worried about a clearly traumatized husband.

There aren't enough scenes of compassion between the two to illustrate the hardship of his deployment or the struggles Taya had raising two children on her own. The love between them wasn't apparent until the final 30 minutes of the film, and by that point it didn't make sense after hours of unresolved arguments. Through the scenes in America, it was clear Eastwood's passion lay in the field (and not just because he used a baby doll instead of casting an actual baby).

But Sniper's heavy subject matter and the way Eastwood mastered the wartime scenes made up for his shortcomings in telling the story of Kyle's personal life. In reality, Kyle's closest family members stood side-by-side with him in combat as he risked his life to help protect our country.