Tuesday 13 January 2015

American Sniper (2014)


This movie directed by the legendary Clint Eastwood  starring Bradly Cooper should have hit a bulls eye. It missed the target. Eastwood's direction lacks energy and Cooper is a cardboard action hero. Its not Eastwood's fault that the mess that was Iraq and the new chaos of ISIS are a strong counterpoint to the unquestioning patriotism profiled in the movie. Portraying the Iraqi people as savages was also over the top.

If it had not been a true story I might have flunked it. The Hurt Locker, Lone Survivor and Zero Dark Thirty all cover the same ground with more authenticity and emotional connection.

Rotten Tomatoes saw a completely differant film and gave it 75%. Out of respect more than merit I will give it 60%. It may be this movie resonates better with Americans than Canadians.
Three Stars

Clint Eastwood is firing back at critics like me. He makes a valid point. This movie is the Snipers story. It was written that way and thats how he filmed it. No grey zones in the American fighting mans mind.

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2 comments:

  1. Finally watched it...and as someone from the Mid East you may guess that I hated it. But technically i thought it was a good film., but not good enough to be nominated. That slot should have gone to Interstellar.

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  2. The reaction to this moive is way more significant than the actual movie. It will go down in history as the worst movie to ever do a Billion box office. I would love to see a counter movie with a plot focused on the Syrian Sniper. What motivated him, hating freedom?

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