Theatrical Reviews: American Sniper

American Sniper is a very good film.  It takes a personal approach to depicting war.  It focuses on one man, and the group surrounding him, not on any wider over-arching story.  It’s a small slice of war, not the big picture.

. . . Just like every

. . . Other

. . . War movie

. . . Ever 

If you like these sorts of movies more then I do, then you are more then welcome to ignore my nay-saying because American Sniper is objectively a solid film.  I’ve just got a chip on my shoulder because I saw this movie twice last year, it was just that then they were called Fury and Lone Survivor respectively. to be fair, American Sniper is probably better then either of those flicks;  but that doesn’t make the comparison any less apt.

So yeah, I don’t love this movie; but that’s not really the movies fault.  Director Clint Eastwood continues to show his talent as a filmmaker (if not a story teller,) and knows how to build tension during the various war sequences.  The movie moves along quickly; it feels relatively personal while staying suitably epic.

Bradley Coopers performance really supports the whole picture.  If the character had been played in a typical charisma-fueled fashion, then it would have revealed how shabbly written the character actually is.  Coopers performance is able to mask that for the most part, and his strong-jawed military hero comes off as real, even if the writing isn’t always totally convincing.

The biggest thing to set this war flick apart from war flicks in general is the fact that Cooper’s character is not simply some random soldier forming a “Band of Brothers” with his fellow soldiers (though he is definitely that as well,) he is a sniper, a so-called “Legend.”  The movie is partially about his on-going rivalry with a Syrian Olympic sniper, and the third act action sequence is an all-out high-tension sniper battle between the two.

Is this movie good enough to get that Best Picture Nomination it has? No.  But is it an above average war thriller with some great performances? Absolutely!  For people who like war movies, snipers and Bradley Cooper this is definitely worth the ticket.  For the rest of us, it’s definitely not a bad ticket to purchase.

Thanks for reading!  Check back later for my Paddington review!