100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 30: American Sniper

Director: Clint Eastwood

Genre: Drama/ Action

Runtime: 133 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Cole Konis, Ben Reed, Elise Robertson, Luke Sunshine, Troy Vincent, Brandon Salgado Telis, Keir O’Donnell, Marnette Patterson, Jason Hall, Billy Miller, Kevin Lacz, Jake McDorman, Cory Hardrict, Eric Ladin, Luke Grimes

Description: Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle's (Bradley Cooper) pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home to his wife (Sienna Miller) and kids after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.

Review: Clint Eastwood has been working as a director for quite some time now. He has brought us some wonderful films. But I don’t know if Eastwood was the perfect man to tell the story of sniper Chris Kyle. Does he manage to get through to the psychology of this type of soldier and can he avoid the clichés of the genre? Unfortunately not. It’s an interesting life story, but it turns into a glorification of the American army and its main men.

It starts with the stereotypical main character, Chris Kyle. He is a characterless American soldier, a patriot. His wife Taya is at home, pregnant. The soldiers laugh a lot, but when the situation asks for it they get right to business. Where have we seen that before? It has all been done before, which makes “American Sniper” not only predictable but also quite forgettable.

The way it is filmed is great and the sound (or lack of it) works oppressive. But content wise it’s much of the same. It lacks the tension movies like “The Hurt Locker” or “The Deer Hunter” had.

This is definitely not one of Clint Eastwood’s bests. The story has potential, the acting was solid and the visuals are good, but it’s nothing new, very cliché and very forgettable. I really wanted to like this movie.

Rating: 2/ 5