American Sniper

The film is divided into two parts. One takes place in Iraq and the other in the homeland. Leaving aside the fact that Bradley Cooper plays his role with absolute precision, I must add that everything else is just plain wrong. There is very little going on in Iraq. There are a few key scenes here, but that’s definitely not enough for a good film. Take the first scene, for example. It is a masterpiece in and of itself. However, the two parts intersect in the most suspenseful moment and suddenly Clint makes a cutto the protagonist’s past life in the States. The tension rapidly drops and we’re left with no choice but to watch why Chris left for Iraq to begin with. After a while, the pace picks up and you suddenly realize this movie has zero emotion. Chris is in America, then in Iraq, then returns to America and ends up in Iraq again. All of this with no emotions, unlike in Hurt Locker which worked pretty well in this respect. Here I had a problem watching it to the end. Simply put, I was disappointed. I expected American Sniper to be something in the vein of contemporary war films such as Hurt Locker or Jarhead, but what I got was a completely routine job, which engages neither with its story nor with the locations. (02/06/2015)

I was expecting that the movie would actually be about something else, but mainly because I didn't want to see anything about it in advance. I was intrigued by how it turned out in the end, maybe even surprising, but on the other hand, Clint can't be blamed for mostly avoiding pathos - except for the actual shots that follow before the credits and during nothing. Otherwise, it is a wonderfully directed film, especially the war scenes are incredible. (01/20/2015)

Cooper aims high; he wants recognition and Oscars. And he obviously tempted Clint Eastwood into this with a high fee. Otherwise, Clint wouldn’t go for it, as the script doesn’t offer much space for his narrative talent (the emotional scenes with the wife could have been done by anyone). The simplicity and straightforwardness of the film, which does not bring anything new under the helmet and relies solely on the potential of the real Chris Kyle’s fate, will delight on one hand (the film engages viewers without imposing higher demands on them), but due to the use of all sorts of clichés and the absence of its own personality (which the identically construed but less oversimplified The Hurt Locker did have), it is not entitled to any Oscars. Unless the Academy intends to openly admit that it is more about politics than movies. The key action scene (Butcher + drill + boy) has masterful editing. But the second half of the movie needs to be shortened. (02/17/2015)

Patriotism is boring. The psychological portrayal of the main character is average. It is neither a high-octane war action like Black Hawk Down, nor a minimalist, intimate piece like Zero Dark Thirty. American Sniper doesn't impress you with anything, except maybe how flat and predictable it ultimately is. It's as if Clint Eastwood had no room for any of his trademarks. You won't feel or resonate with the shots, nor with the dialogues spoken by characters with whom you don't empathise or bear their "burden" on the screen – except perhaps the leading duo. Thumbs up for not being afraid to depict child violence and a few solid action scenes that intertwine with the boring ones that lack dramatic dynamism and better structure – Ridley Scott could give a few lessons – the hell in Mogadishu was much more tangible. (03/06/2015)

American Sniper is not about physical suffering in the middle of a battle zone, but rather about the diametrically opposed perspectives that the war in Iraq is subjected to, both from the unsuspecting American public and the direct participants in the bloody conflict, as well as the questionable motivations that drive many young Americans toward their dream of "serving the country”. Eastwood works with a very generic cinematic equation, with his protagonist coming into the war full of enthusiasm and patriotic oaths, only to leave as a broken man who has lost his illusions of honour and the existence of goodness. But what elevates the film to above average is its undisguised aversion to jingoism, which is a flimsy band-aid for doing or perhaps returning to evil, the natural civility of emotion that makes the war and psychological levels blend beautifully, and of course Clint's formal genius, which he still retains even in his 80s. Given the many Oscar nominations, one might think that Americans have a soft spot for Eastwood, but watching American Sniper, as with Gran Torino or Million Dollar Baby, I realized that the popularity is well deserved. 80% (02/14/2015)