Films based on modern conflicts sometimes have a tricky
dilemma to answer in their production; do they focus on action in an attempt to
garner as large an audience as possible or do they try to do something more
profound and examine the darker side of the world’s most recent conflicts? The
latest effort from long standing actor and director Clint Eastwood is American
Sniper which follows the exploits of one solider whose status rose above many
others in modern conflict. It aims to stand alongside the likes of The Hurt
Locker and Jarhead but in practice it has a very difficult time reaching that
level.
American Sniper follows Navy Seal Chris Kyle (Bradley
Cooper); considered the most dangerous sniper in US military history, Kyle
racked up a total of over 160 confirmed kills across four tours in Iraq and as such, has simultaneously become a legend in the eyes of his
comrades and a demon in the eyes of the enemy. The film cuts back and forth
between his time in Iraq and his at home with his wife (Sienna Miller) and
family and this is where the film’s first problem arises; the movie is simply
too fast and abrupt. Action sequences can never build tension effectively as
they often cut back to Chris’s civilian life at seemingly random intervals
whilst the moments with Chris’s family aren’t able to convey enough emotion to
make the audience care about their fates as the film constantly hurls the
audience back to the Middle East again. Similarly the film really doesn’t go
into much detail into the dehumanising elements of war; for example there are a
couple of moments where Kyle is forced to shoot children who he believes are
out to murder his comrades; you can definitely feel the guilt and tension that
creeps down the scope of his rifle, but then a few scenes later, this is almost
completely forgotten about and as a result you never get the sense that the
character is becoming more and more weighed down by mental trauma. The film
only hints at the psychological issues that plague soldiers, rather than
exploring them fully as other films of its kind have done so much better. The
film’s biggest offence though is how it takes a considerably uneven, almost
black and white viewpoint towards the conflict it portrays; Americans are seen
as brave soldiers protecting their homes and families overseas so that makes
them the heroes of the story whilst Middle Eastern militants are shooting at
the Americans so that automatically makes them the villains with no redeeming
qualities whatsoever. Just as the film doesn’t bother to go into detail about
the psychological side of conflict, so too does it refuse to examine the
combatants on both sides with a balanced and morally grey viewpoint. American
Sniper’s plot is ultimately a muddle, failing to go into issues with proper
detail and charging along too quickly for its own good.
Main leads Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller do an acceptable
job of fitting the archetypes of determined soldier and worried wife; Miller in
particular shows a great deal of emotion when she fears for her husband’s life.
The two try their best to get across the pressures placed on families who have
members serving in the armed forces but because the film is so poorly paced,
these moments are often just as rushed as the action sequences. Unfortunately
while the main actors do a mostly serviceable job with the material they’re
given, the film’s dialogue devolves into a painfully clichéd rut on several
occasions, especially during combat sequences where lines such as “Get some!”
and “Gnarly!” make the film’s narrow focus all too evident. The other
characters, especially the fellow marines Chris is tasked with protecting don’t
have much depth; again this is something which could have been
developed further if we had been given time to get to know the characters and
care about their fates but instead they’re just the average underdeveloped
grunts that we see in countless other action films. Like the plot, American
Sniper’s casting is mixed, not consistently making a good impression across the
entirety of its runtime.
American Sniper can find some redemption in its technical
presentation; the action is always tight and consistently edited, not resorting
to a single shot of shaky cam in a bid to make its action scenes seem more
intense and a minimal use of CGI placed against the use of real land vehicles
does give the film a strong sense of authenticity. This is matched by some
powerful sound effects which do make a strong contribution to immersing the
viewer in the setting (if only the pacing did the same!). The film’s standout
moment comes towards the end where Chris’s unit must escape a dangerous
sandstorm; it’s the closest the film ever comes to proper tension and just as
the soldiers are disoriented, so too is the audience as the action and actors
are difficult to see clearly. The film’s presentation is fairly decent for a
war film but all told it cannot make up for the uneven plot and inconsistent
characters.
American Sniper’s biggest problem isn’t that it veers
dangerously close to the realm of propaganda; the main issue is that it handles
so many elements in such basic and one-dimensional ways that it becomes nearly
impossible to take the film seriously. It’s a very divisive kind of film that
has garnered a fair bit of controversy but in my estimation, it’s rather
disappointing.
Rating: 2/5 Stars
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