The first film of my 2015 watchlist begins with a flashback from the
past of the titular sniper himself, Chris Kyle (Cooper). Straight away
there is a high sense of cliched Texan upbringing. Father teaching his
son how to hunt, how to act, what not to do, how to be a man. Or rather
how to be exactly like his father. Now, this is by no means a bad thing,
as the way it flits back and forth between both Kyle's past with his
father and his present with his wife (Sienna Miller), and his tours of
post-911 Iraq, is entirely necessary. It also works to great effect to
force home one of American Sniper's more valuable points, and that is
the brutality of the "War on Terror", and the toll it takes on the men
and women who participate in it.
Comparisons are immediatley drawn to Academy Award winning The Hurt Locker, which I am a fan of. However, where that effort was more of a series of shocking episodes only tied together by Jeremy Renner's adrenaline junkie bomb disposal engineer, the various set pieces in American Sniper gradually weave a web of connection. That connection spawns a somewhat personal mission for Kyle, where he and his overly-eager infiltration squad find themselves in the crosshairs of the insurgent's very own 'Angel of Death', named Mustafa. This benefits the film greatly as it smoothens the flow of the story and adds further depth to the stern lesson he learns from his father in an early flashback. That lesson is that the world is made up of three kinds of person, sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. Long story short, Kyle has a concept buried deep inside him by his father, that some men are selected as 'sheepdogs', and must watch over the 'sheep', by taking down the wolves that hunt them, or at least those who he deems to be wolves. This is a conundrum that Kyle is consistently faced with as a sniper watching over his squad. His job is to basically play judge, jury executioner (over the course of a few seconds). He picks off gunmen, bystanders, women, children, anyone who he judges to be smuggling and IED or weapon beneath their clothing. It's a nerve-wracking ride, when these scenes are on, and it's what made American Sniper hugely enjoyable for me.
Bradley Cooper is certainly very likeable as a person, and with previous escapades including Limitless and American Hustle, he is a very talented and entertaining one too. Prior to taking on the role of SEAL Chris Kyle, Cooper bulked himself up big time, and it shows. The Philadelphian is barely recognisable with his veteran's beard, sniper's cap, gruff Texan accent and thick neck that tells his squadmates he means business and is here to get the job done and "do his duty". This entry into his filmography does nothing to dampen my respect for him.
As I said previously, American Sniper is the first film this year I've made the effort to go and watch at the cinema, and I'm delighted I did. Brilliantly crafted, unbearably tense, and quite emotional in places. It ticks all the boxes required for an award winning war film, although it could easily be considered an anti-war project by many. It is a must-see in my book and dares to ask us, "what is the personal cost of conflict?" and "what might the resulting heroism cost a man?". Great start to 2015.
Comparisons are immediatley drawn to Academy Award winning The Hurt Locker, which I am a fan of. However, where that effort was more of a series of shocking episodes only tied together by Jeremy Renner's adrenaline junkie bomb disposal engineer, the various set pieces in American Sniper gradually weave a web of connection. That connection spawns a somewhat personal mission for Kyle, where he and his overly-eager infiltration squad find themselves in the crosshairs of the insurgent's very own 'Angel of Death', named Mustafa. This benefits the film greatly as it smoothens the flow of the story and adds further depth to the stern lesson he learns from his father in an early flashback. That lesson is that the world is made up of three kinds of person, sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. Long story short, Kyle has a concept buried deep inside him by his father, that some men are selected as 'sheepdogs', and must watch over the 'sheep', by taking down the wolves that hunt them, or at least those who he deems to be wolves. This is a conundrum that Kyle is consistently faced with as a sniper watching over his squad. His job is to basically play judge, jury executioner (over the course of a few seconds). He picks off gunmen, bystanders, women, children, anyone who he judges to be smuggling and IED or weapon beneath their clothing. It's a nerve-wracking ride, when these scenes are on, and it's what made American Sniper hugely enjoyable for me.
Bradley Cooper is certainly very likeable as a person, and with previous escapades including Limitless and American Hustle, he is a very talented and entertaining one too. Prior to taking on the role of SEAL Chris Kyle, Cooper bulked himself up big time, and it shows. The Philadelphian is barely recognisable with his veteran's beard, sniper's cap, gruff Texan accent and thick neck that tells his squadmates he means business and is here to get the job done and "do his duty". This entry into his filmography does nothing to dampen my respect for him.
As I said previously, American Sniper is the first film this year I've made the effort to go and watch at the cinema, and I'm delighted I did. Brilliantly crafted, unbearably tense, and quite emotional in places. It ticks all the boxes required for an award winning war film, although it could easily be considered an anti-war project by many. It is a must-see in my book and dares to ask us, "what is the personal cost of conflict?" and "what might the resulting heroism cost a man?". Great start to 2015.
