08-25-2015, 07:12 AM
In Clint Eastwood's hand, war is bad, kind of.
Chris Kyle is the titular American Sniper, the best sniper ever with 160 confirmed kills. And by best, I think they mean most accurate.
There are two stories at war here during the course of this picture. One is the story of Chris's hunt for his opposite number who was an olympic medalist marksman. Lots of great battle scenes with explosions and gun battles and war materiel on display. The other story is Chris's gradual disillusionment with the war and the toll it takes on him and his family.
Eastwood is not a subtle director so the Chris breakdown always feels like I'm being hit in the head with meaning. For instance he cries to his wife on a Sat-Phone that he wants to come during a firefight. He actually talks to his wife a bunch of times during battles, even losing the phone on two occasions so she thinks the worst. So, yeah, no subtlety.
But the gun battles, the bits I think Eastwood like the most, are really well done. The battles in Iraq are quite well staged. Lots of excitement. Lots of louds.
As for Bradley Cooper who plays Chris Kyle, I usually have a no Bradley Cooper film policy, he was less of a douche than usual. I think he did a good job as the modest super killer struggling to balance war and family. He was also incredibly swole. And yes, he did manage to get his shirt off.
So, an uneven film but not bad. And it does have that ironic denouement
I have heard reports that friends of Kyle who have seen the film wonder who the film is supposed to be about because they don't see Chris Kyle in the character portrayed in the film. I might have to read the book.
Chris Kyle is the titular American Sniper, the best sniper ever with 160 confirmed kills. And by best, I think they mean most accurate.
There are two stories at war here during the course of this picture. One is the story of Chris's hunt for his opposite number who was an olympic medalist marksman. Lots of great battle scenes with explosions and gun battles and war materiel on display. The other story is Chris's gradual disillusionment with the war and the toll it takes on him and his family.
Eastwood is not a subtle director so the Chris breakdown always feels like I'm being hit in the head with meaning. For instance he cries to his wife on a Sat-Phone that he wants to come during a firefight. He actually talks to his wife a bunch of times during battles, even losing the phone on two occasions so she thinks the worst. So, yeah, no subtlety.
But the gun battles, the bits I think Eastwood like the most, are really well done. The battles in Iraq are quite well staged. Lots of excitement. Lots of louds.
As for Bradley Cooper who plays Chris Kyle, I usually have a no Bradley Cooper film policy, he was less of a douche than usual. I think he did a good job as the modest super killer struggling to balance war and family. He was also incredibly swole. And yes, he did manage to get his shirt off.
So, an uneven film but not bad. And it does have that ironic denouement
I have heard reports that friends of Kyle who have seen the film wonder who the film is supposed to be about because they don't see Chris Kyle in the character portrayed in the film. I might have to read the book.
So much for the flickr badge idea. Dammit
