Sgt_Gath
Diamond Member
- Jul 25, 2014
- 2,486
- 1,547
- 2,030
American Sniper
Hmmm... Not so sure about this one, to be honest.
Maybe it was Eastwood's trademark sentimentality. Maybe it was the pressure from Kyle's family to be "respectful" at all costs. In any case, however, the end result struck me as being more than a bit "sanitized," and even vaguely "cheesy" in comparison to some of the other war movies I've seen recently.
I mean... Don't get me wrong. There are some intense scenes in this movie, and I like the message they're going for. However, in comparison to Fury, or even the Hurtlocker, the film comes off as being rather tame, predictable, and overly "clean." It would have benefited from a bit more grit, IMO.
Where the film does succeed, on the other hand, is in its portrayal of the impact the war had on Kyle's family and home life. Honestly, this is probably a better movie about PTSD and the stress of reintegration faced by soldiers returning home from war than it is about war itself.
Even then, however, Kyle comes off as being just a tad too saintly to be completely believable.
We're talking about the guy who may or may not have lied through his teeth about punching out Governor Jessie Ventura here (which the movie completely ignores), after all.
Did Chris Kyle deck Jesse Ventura? | San Diego Reader
I'm not really sure if I buy the almost completely straight-laced "aw shucks" country boy portrayal of him the movie tries to sell.
In any eventuality, all of this aside, it's not a "bad" movie. It's just not quite what I was expecting.
Overall: 6.5 out 10
Hmmm... Not so sure about this one, to be honest.
Maybe it was Eastwood's trademark sentimentality. Maybe it was the pressure from Kyle's family to be "respectful" at all costs. In any case, however, the end result struck me as being more than a bit "sanitized," and even vaguely "cheesy" in comparison to some of the other war movies I've seen recently.
I mean... Don't get me wrong. There are some intense scenes in this movie, and I like the message they're going for. However, in comparison to Fury, or even the Hurtlocker, the film comes off as being rather tame, predictable, and overly "clean." It would have benefited from a bit more grit, IMO.
Where the film does succeed, on the other hand, is in its portrayal of the impact the war had on Kyle's family and home life. Honestly, this is probably a better movie about PTSD and the stress of reintegration faced by soldiers returning home from war than it is about war itself.
Even then, however, Kyle comes off as being just a tad too saintly to be completely believable.
We're talking about the guy who may or may not have lied through his teeth about punching out Governor Jessie Ventura here (which the movie completely ignores), after all.
Did Chris Kyle deck Jesse Ventura? | San Diego Reader
I'm not really sure if I buy the almost completely straight-laced "aw shucks" country boy portrayal of him the movie tries to sell.
In any eventuality, all of this aside, it's not a "bad" movie. It's just not quite what I was expecting.
Overall: 6.5 out 10