It's easily the best thing that Clint Eastwood has made in years, and a welcome return to form after the disastrous J. Edgar and the serviceable but dull Jersey Boys. It's driven by an absolutely stunning, award-worthy turn from Bradley Cooper who is just incredible here. He perfectly embodies the character of Chris and makes him equal parts unpredictable and surprisingly sympathetic. You can really see the effect that the various events that unfold have on his character and Cooper gives a perfectly realized turn that's easily one of his best. The actual story is incredibly fascinating and ultimately tragic, and Eastwood does a good job of avoiding preachiness with the subject matter or leaning towards one particular political viewpoint. Sienna Miller is also strong as Chris's love interest and eventual wife - I loved the scene between her and Cooper where they first meet near the beginning of the film. It's very much a love story between these two characters and there's surprisingly little focus on the other soldiers Chris works with (the one with the biggest role is probably Jake McDorman), which gives this a different feel than movies like Lone Survivor. The battle sequences are incredibly gritty and well-shot, and I was on the edge of my seat during the climax (which is mostly set in a sandstorm). I do think that certain aspects of the screenplay could have been fleshed out a little more (particularly the relationship between Chris and his brother which is set up nicely but never really goes anywhere) and the middle portion drags a bit, but this is absolutely worth seeing for Cooper's fantastic work at the least. A-

Can't believe there's a distinct possibility of three consecutive Oscar nods for Bradley Cooper.

Quite the turnaround for him... And it all started with Valentine's Day!

I like Cooper. He deserves 3 in a row really. And that doesn't even include The Place Beyond the Pines which was a great film.

I didn't think the film was great, but he was the best performer in it.

Shouldn't you be masturbating at an Interstellar-screening right now?

No, that's me!

You can always lend each other a hand.

I thought this was really good and both Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller gave award worthy performances. After the first hour I was ready to call it one of my favorites of the year but I thought it started to really feel it's length around the hour and a half mark. It does pick back up though but the ending was incredibly rushed. I wish they showed a bit more of what happened. Still, it was really good and Eastwood, at 84 years old, still has it in him to make a damn good film.

B+

It's unsettling and interesting. Eastwood's messaging isn't clear -- but this certainly isn't a love letter to the Iraqi war or to Chris Kyle. B+.

the new old west

I thought the first hour was pretty good but then it became too repetitive for me. And the whole thing feels a bit shallow. It's not bad though, and Cooper is quite solid in the lead role (if not quite awards-worthy). B/B-

Agree with everyone else, the first hour or so was very promising but the last 2 tours gets monotonous. That said, I did enjoy the movie more than I thought I would. Cooper carries the movie.

The movie is not three hours lol

He didn't say it was.

Yeah he did

Are you blind? It says "tours," as in tours of duty. One of the plot devices used in the movie is that Chris keeps going back for them.

I am blind, obviously. Did you see my ex-wife?!

LOL yes, I am blind.

During his decade of service, Texas-born Navy SEAL Chris Kyle reportedly became the most lethal sniper in United States military history. His myth-forging memoir and violent early death—shot by another traumatized returning soldier—have turned him into one of the divisive Iraq War's few iconic and tragic heroes. Patriotic fans crowded stadiums to mourn after his death. The man will only further vanish into myth in the aftermath of this rather simplistic Clint Eastwood film, which is political in the sense it feigns an apolitical stance (just one man's story!) and ignores more questionable elements of the Kyle saga, including his claim he and a friend traveled to post-Katrina New Orleans to shoot looters from a rooftop.

Steadily-but-flatly directed by the ever-productive Eastwood, the film in general tends toward the inert. I admit, there are a couple intense war sequences even if colorful flourishes strain credulity (the film imagines a Syrian Olympic shooter turned urban radical as Kyle's counterpart and archenemy), but it comes up short as a biography. This despite a committed and muscular, if slightly superficial performance by Bradley Cooper, who seems eager and completely invested in an understanding of Chris Kyle as a salt-of-the-earth Southern stud who just hoped to protect the homeland, darn it. His origins are rushed and verge on unintentional humor, particularly a self-righteous father who categorizes the human race as wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs (before removing his belt at the dinner table and threatening to beat any child of his who becomes a sheep or a wolf). And later domestic scenes with Sienna Miller blandly portraying his concerned wife are perfunctory and tidy in their exploration of the modern soldier's post-combat psychological strain.

C

With the exception of the fake baby I really enjoyed this. The first hour is fantastic and it drags a little after that, but the war scenes are very well done. I was honestly surprised at how much I liked the domestic scenes more than the action scenes, but I thought Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller had great chemistry. He handled the PTSD stuff well and it was pretty intense at times how the camera would just focus on his face. The bad guys here were really generic, but so where the one's in Lone Survivor and I like them both pretty much equally.

I'd give this a solid B.

It's good, it's engrossing and entertaining, but that's it. it's AMERICAN and if it does anything, it really does justify the sense of duty the more special soldiers feel and does a good job showcasing the brotherly bond that grows.

That said, wow. Cooper's totally overrated. Like...there's nothing to this character. Just a stare and southern drawl. It always amazes me when these kind of roles get praised when they're very easy from an acting stand point. Get the accent and timing down, and bingo. Miller is good but is such a waste, all they have her do is whine and nag.

Intense and disturbing scenes (the drill bit is just disgusting).



It's not "on the verge" of unintentional humor. There were several moments the packed audience I was with laughed loudly where they shouldn't have:

-Father's aforementioned speech about sheep, so random
-Gf screams "I'm just doing this for attention!"
-All Sienna Miller's uber cliche "omg come home!" scenes.
-After learning Beagles might not make it, they decide to go out and unanimously go "FUCK YES". Lots of people laughed very loud at that part.
-The Iraqi who has a close up shot w/ a missile launcher and misses terribly

You're paragraph quoted is very accurate.

I got to give Eastwood credit for not pulling any punches on the violence in this. The bit where the kid gets the power drill actually made me look away, but then you have that scene where those bad guys in the car get obliterated which was pretty fucking awesome, and completely caught me off guard. I know it got repetitive/tedious towards the end, but I loved the atmosphere in those earlier war sequences. It was definitely gritty, but the tension felt so authentic at times that it truly created some powerful scenes.

Anyways, this is probably the most I've liked a Clint Eastwood film since Gran Torino which probably isn't saying much, but his last couple of movies did nothing for me.