“There are three types of people, sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs.” Chris Kyle’s father
Swift shot: Powerful, painful, and provocative. You want wars to be clean, you want them to be surgical, but you often forget the men, and women, performing the operations. You might forget, but those that have truly sacrificed . . . can never forget.
American Sniper tells the story of “The Legend” Chris Kyle, the most talked about SEAL in history, without question. Bradley Cooper was never an actor, he was just Chris Kyle, the whole film. I never for a moment thought, wow, Cooper is nailing this. I felt like I was watching a genuine possession of a SEAL. Cooper is Kyle, period.
Director Clint Eastwood may be the most amazing American to ever come out of Hollyweird. He has staked his claim as a certain type of filmmaker, and to hell with his critics. I won’t, and can’t really, find fault with one digital nanosecond of this film. It was a true story about one SEAL, his family, his . . . other family and a war that so many of us forgot (and still forget) was being fought by our bravest sons and daughters.
I was moved throughout the film. There was one scene in particular that was gut-wrenching, and it (and war) was not for the faint of heart. But, guess what, as Chris often said “they are savages!” These people will kill you, given the chance, they will use any means necessary. If you doubt that, you are one of the sheep. Which, is fine, that’s your right, but don’t you ever try to neuter the sheepdog who keeps the fucking wolves away from tearing your throats out!!
Someone asked me, “wasn’t this just another war movie?” to which I now reply. No. This is not just another war film, this was an honest to God mythology based on actual facts, hard credible historical facts. Chris Kyle was America’s Achilles. Chris, and the American brave, fought so that others didn’t have to. The wars are now officially over, but we haven’t really left anywhere. We have more work to do, culling the savages of the world. Who will be the next Legend?
There’s nothing controversial about this film.
In the end, it is a story about a sniper duel between Chris and an enemy sniper with heightened accolades of his own. It is a film about the horrors of war, the toll combat takes on a soul, and the journey to better oneself as a son, soldier, and father. The combat sequences are so intense at times, it’s almost like you are there with the troops. The violence is immediate and vicious. The choices are lethal, always. There is very little levity in the film, and there is NO wasted dialog.
I know I am biased, but I really can’t find one thing to criticize about this film. I can tell you it is not a film I would recommend to some people, but anyone who thinks they don’t need to see this film . . . those are the people that NEED to see this film! We are at war, America – WAKE THE FUCK UP!
Spoiler Alert – don’t read any further if you don’t know the whole story about Chris Kyle!
I can only say this about Chris’ demise. Marines eat their own, I pray to Chesty Puller that his executioner never sees a court. I want him dead, I want him dead more than I want anyone else dead in this world. He betrayed a brother, a humble hero, who despite his legendary mythology, was just a sheepdog, keeping all the sheep safe from the wolves of the world. I hope the coward gets the ultimate Code Red, because his instructors failed him and the Corps. I am sorry, as a Marine, for what one of our broken brothers did, and I only hope that he is dealt with at the unit level. Make of that statement whatever you want, I don’t care.
Oh, and a fair warning to Michael Moore – if I ever see you, I will gladly spend time in jail for fucking you up! To call ANYONE who volunteered (since we don’t have a draft anymore, fat ass) to serve their country in a time of war, a coward, you literally deserve to get beaten, bad, by people who can seriously teach you a lesson in humility.
