Kamis, 10 Desember 2015

American Sniper (2014)

American Sniper (2014)



American Sniper is a 2014 American biographical war film directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Jason Hall. It is loosely based on the memoir American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History (2012) by Chris Kyle, with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. The film follows the life of Kyle, who became the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history with 255 kills from four tours in the Iraq War, 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense. While Kyle was celebrated for his military successes, his tours of duty took a heavy toll on his personal and family life. The film stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife Taya, with Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner, Sam Jaeger, Jake McDorman, and Cory Hardrict in supporting roles.

The world premiere was on November 11, 2014, at the American Film Institute Festival, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 25, 2014 and a wide release on January 16, 2015. The film became a major success, with a worldwide gross of over $547 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 2014 in the United States ($350 million), the highest-grossing war film of all time unadjusted for inflation, and Eastwood's highest-grossing film to date.

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, with the majority of praise directed towards Cooper's lead performance and Eastwood's direction, though it attracted some controversy over its portrayal of both the War in Iraq and of Chris Kyle. At the 87th Academy Awards, American Sniper received six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for Cooper, ultimately winning one award for Best Sound Editing

Storyline

Chris Kyle was nothing more than a Texan man who dreamed of becoming a cowboy, but in his thirties he found out that maybe his life needed something different, something where he could express his real talent, something that could help America in its fight against terrorism. So he joined the SEALs in order to become a sniper. After marrying, Kyle and the other members of the team are called for their first tour of Iraq. Kyle's struggle isn't with his missions, but about his relationship with the reality of the war and, once returned at home, how he manages to handle it with his urban life, his wife and kids.

Plot

Growing up in Texas, Chris Kyle is taught by his father how to shoot a rifle and hunt deer. Years later, Chris has become a ranch hand and rodeo cowboy, and returns home early, to find his girlfriend in bed with another man. After telling her to leave, he is mulling it over with his brother when he sees news coverage of the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings and decides to enlist in the navy. He qualifies for special training and becomes a U.S. Navy SEALs sniper.

Chris meets Taya Renae at a bar, and the two soon marry. He is sent to Iraq after the September 11 attacks of 2001. His first kills are a woman and boy who attacked U.S. Marines with a Russian made RKG-3 anti-tank grenade. Chris is visibly upset by the experience but later earns the nickname "Legend" for his many kills. Assigned to hunt for the al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Chris interrogates a family whose father offers to lead the SEALs to "The Butcher", al-Zarqawi's second-in-command. The plan goes awry when The Butcher captures the father and his son, killing them while Chris is pinned down by a sniper using a Romanian PSL sniper rifle. This sniper goes by the name Mustafa and is an Olympic Games medalist from Syria. Meanwhile, the insurgents issue a bounty on Chris.

Chris returns home to his wife and the birth of his son. He is distracted by memories of his war experiences and by Taya’s concern for them as a couple; she wishes he would focus on his home and family.

Chris leaves for a second tour and is promoted to Chief Petty Officer. Involved in a shootout with The Butcher, he helps in killing him. When he returns home to a newborn daughter, Chris becomes increasingly distant from his family. On Chris' third tour, Mustafa seriously injures a unit member, and the unit is evacuated back to base. When they decide to return to the field and continue the mission, another SEAL is killed by gunfire.

Guilt compels Chris to undertake a fourth tour, and Taya tells him that she may not be there when he returns. Back in Iraq, Chris is assigned to kill Mustafa, who has been sniping U.S. Army combat engineers building a barricade. Chris' sniper team is placed on a rooftop inside enemy territory. Chris spots Mustafa and takes him out with a risky long distance shot at 2100 yards (1920 meters), but this exposes his team's position to numerous armed insurgents. In the midst of the firefight, and low on ammunition, Chris tearfully calls Taya and tells her he is ready to come home. A sandstorm provides cover for a chaotic escape in which Chris is injured and almost left behind.

After Chris gets back, on edge and unable to adjust fully to civilian life, he is asked by a Veterans Affairs psychiatrist if he is haunted by all the things he did in war. When he replies that it is “all the guys [he] couldn't save" that haunt him, the psychiatrist encourages him to help severely wounded veterans in the VA hospital. After that Chris gradually begins to adjust to home life.

Years later, on February 2, 2013, a happy Chris says goodbye to his wife and family as he leaves to spend time with a veteran at a shooting range. An on-screen subtitle reveals: "Chris Kyle was killed that day by a veteran he was trying to help", followed by stock footage of crowds standing along the highway for his funeral procession.[9] More are shown attending his memorial service.

Cast


  • Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle
  • Sienna Miller as Taya Renae Kyle
  • Max Charles as Colton Kyle
  • Luke Grimes as Marc Lee
  • Kyle Gallner as Goat-Winston
  • Sam Jaeger as Captain Martens
  • Jake McDorman as Ryan "Biggles" Job
  • Cory Hardrict as 'D' / Dandridge
  • Navid Negahban as Sheikh Al-Obodi
  • Eric Close as DIA Agent Snead
  • Eric Ladin as Squirrel
  • Kevin "Dauber" Lacz as himself
  • Brian Hallisay as Captain Gillespie
  • Keir O'Donnell as Jeff Kyle
  • Marnette Patterson as Sarah
  • Leonard Roberts as Instructor Rolle
  • Sammy Sheik as Mustafa, a character partially based on Iraqi sniper Juba
  • Mido Hamada as "The Butcher"


User Review

American Sniper is Clint Eastwood's harrowing take on Chris Kyle's life and his service in the Navy as a SEAL sniper who killed nearly 200 enemy soldiers. The film is relentlessly violent and disturbing but honors the life of the late Chris Kyle in a very admirable way. It doesn't show this man as an invincible legend, it shows him as a mere man with a heart and soul that are clearly broken due to his sacrifice for his country. Bradley Cooper delivers the best performance of his career as Chris Kyle. Cooper didn't merely bulk up for the role, he became this man without any hesitation and doesn't hit a false note. Clint Eastwood proves that he can still deliver a phenomenal film even in his mid-eighties. It isn't only impressive for his age, but American Sniper is an impressive film in general. It doesn't wallow in classic war film clichès, it tells Kyle's story the way he told it in the book and while some creative liberties were taken in telling the story regarding pacing, it is an excellent film. It isn't an all out war film like The Hurt Locker, it is a heavy drama with plenty of gut wrenching scenes both on and off the battle field. The most interesting part of this film is the parallels between Kyle's life as a sniper and Kyle's deteriorating life state side. It is an interesting dynamic to add to a film like this and echoes past films from the 70s such as Coming Home and The Deer Hunter. On a technical level, American Sniper sores with great cinematography that is a bit more colorful when compared to Eastwood's past films and excellent sound design. You see every wound and hear every gunshot with realistic velocity. It is a truly great cinematic experience. Overall, American Sniper is a great film that will tug at your heart strings much like last year's Lone Survivor and even goes one step beyond that film and gives us grade A entertainment with grade A acting. It stands as one of the best films of the year.

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