American Sniper

A good guy goes on a 10 year killing spree in which bad men, women and children “make his day” while a nation rejoices.

Verdict: I’m afraid my expectations were far too high going into this. First, the reviews were too good to be true. Second, Eastwood has excelled at handling violence and the impact on men in Unforgiven, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. He’s also managed to portray both sides of a conflict fairly. American Sniper fails to do any of that. It is a very simplistic film that moves from scene to scene propelled by cliché and jingoism. Thus, it seems like it was made-for-TV. Sienna Miller – why are people praising her performance? The only thing she’s done here is an average job, which I guess is a huge step up for her. Bradley Cooper does a fine job, I thought. Eastwood completely bungles the ending with an awkward – almost absurd – scene followed by news reel footage that feels tacked on. People have claimed that Chris Kyle was no hero. That is unfortunate, but what “hero” is perfect? Somewhere out there is a far better, more balanced film waiting to be made – perhaps a documentary. This is NOT that film – nor is it as good as other sniper cinema, such as Enemy at the Gates, or even Sniper. American Sniper is my choice for the most overrated film of 2014.