Sniper deserves eight out of ten

American Sniper was a very well-directed and well-acted film. I give this film a rating of eight out of a possible ten.

If only a few changes were made to the film, I would have gave the movie an even higher rating.

For those who are not familiar with this film, which would be very few due to its popularity and ties concerning the trial for the man who killed the man featured in the film, it was based on a true story about a hero that was deployed in Afghanistan. Chris Kyle was a sniper that became a legend, and still is even though the veteran mentioned took his life last year.

On the positive side, this film captivated the emotions Kyle and his family witnessed. I have heard from many of my guy friends that even they cried watching this film. This is definitely a hard movie to watch, taking into consideration Kyle’s admiration for his country and the hardships of war and how it wears on a person’s sanity. It is even harder to watch as the film concludes with Kyle, played by Bradley Cooper, saying goodbye to his family with no intention of not returning.

This is where the movie lacks, in my opinion. Eddie Routh is hardly mentioned in the film; it is merely mentioned that this was the veteran who killed the hero the audience had come to love. It is natural for one to feel a sense of hatred towards Routh, and the film certainly did just that. The film did not mention that Routh had been suffering from various mental illnesses such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Even though Routh is guilty, I feel the film should not have conveyed him in such a murderous light. What he did was horrific, but he is much more than a murderer, and that was what the film did not convey.

Returning to the positive aspects of this film, Bradley Cooper transformed immensely and added much depth to this film. At first, I was hesitant wondering if a man could go from playing Pat in Silver Linings Playbook to this role of Kyle. However, my doubts were soon diminished and Cooper, in my opinion, portrayed Kyle better that anyone else could have.

The directors in this film also did a profound job portraying war and how severe the situation has become over in the Middle East. The littlest of things added in the movie, such as Kyle taking out the boy who was holding the hand grenade, added up to create a sound image of reality of war.

It is obvious the multiple positives outweigh what in my opinion is a flaw, which is what results in this movie receiving a high rating. I feel like this movie was needed in theaters, to make people realize how lucky all of us are and to be grateful for all the veterans who fight for our country’s well-being. A man as great as Kyle deserved his story to be told to the country and documented so this hero will not be forgotten.