American Sniper

In all honesty, when I heard that Clint Eastwood was making a film about the tragic yet inspiring story of U.S. Navy Seal hero Chris Kyle, I was sceptical. All I expected from this was your typical action-packed, glorification of war nonsense; fortunately, I was mistaken, as this film is far more than that. Eastwood at the ripe old age of 84, still clearly knows what he's doing. This film's ambition certainly paid off, not just this weekend at the box office, but the for the quality of the film that has come from the ambition. Eastwood made sure that there was total realism to this film, especially as requested by the father of the late Chris Kyle, and Eastwood stuck to his promise, and the transformation made by Bradley Cooper certainly is remarkable.

When I saw that Bradley Cooper had received his 3rd Oscar nomination in a row, I was honestly surprised, secretly hoping it would go to Jake Gyllenhaal for his career-best performance in the gripping 'Nightcrawler', yet I have since changed my mind after watching Cooper's performance in American Sniper. This was in my opinion Cooper's best performance today, and you could tell there was real heart and dedication in the role. Not only the physical preparation he did for this role (which is very impressive also), but the psychological training and the research he put in to try and represent Chris Kyle as well as he deserves. From what I have read about Chris Kyle, it seems to me that Cooper really played him well, and as well as the film aspect, I think Cooper represented more than just Hollywood in his performance; I think the way he portrayed Kyle when he was back home with PTSD was perfect. Cooper made the film far more than a film, he made it a lesson, to those who think war is a game, PTSD is a real problem in troops and everyone should not take them for granted. I really am pleased that Cooper played this part so well, and deservedly for me received his Oscar nomination, As well as Cooper, I felt Sienna Miller for her part was great, her emotion really made her seem like a real wife and mother concerned for her husband and kids, and it is pleasing that Eastwood managed to capture the complicated relationship Kyle and his wife perfectly.

 Eastwood unfortunately was not nominated for best director at the Oscars, which is a shame as I felt he really made this movie well and gave a great and respectful account of Chris Kyle. His great mixing of flashbacks certainly at the start to build a climax up was excellent and one of the greatest parts about the film. As well as the directing, I felt the scenes where Kyle was actually shooting the enemy was very well shot, especially when mixed with the sound focusing in and out along with his breath; this was certainly a well made film. Overall I think this is the way that war should be presented in films, not as cool explosions and actions, but real life tragedy and showing that war has terrible consequences, and it is certainly a great legacy to give to the people about Chris Kyle. I felt this was worth every one of it's Oscar nominations, including the coveted Best Picture, and a great representation of not just the physical but the psychological effects of war, a great film that I would recommend to all and I would rate it a solid 9/10.