It speaks emotionally to audiences who sense that we lost something in Iraq, yet still want to honor the heroism of those who risked their lives for the cause, whether or not it was ultimately a great one.
Kyle killed two men, as a civilian, with his massive Colt .44 Magnum. That's a 'Dirty Harry' gun. Who directed 'American Sniper'? Dirty Harry did. That's terribly ironic.
Although Cooper succeeds in resembling and sounding like the real Kyle, this isn't some cheap impersonation trick. Cooper gives maybe the best performance of his career.
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June 21, 2016
It is too spare to be elegiac, but has just about enough ambiguity to fit in with Eastwood's life-long study of the American male and his place in a world that demands more than he can give.
American Sniper has a perspective that's recognizable from the classic Westerns Eastwood has long been associated with, both as an actor and a director. It's an existential critique of violent machismo that doubles as a celebration of violence.
