American Sniper

Over the weekend, as I do annually during Oscar season, I went out and saw a few of the nominees for Best Picture at the 87th Academy Awards. One of the celebrated films that was up for this honor was "American Sniper" a patriotic biopic of America's deadliest war hero, starring this excellent Bradley Cooper. Cooper, wholly deserving of his nomination for Best Leading Actor, portrays Chris Kyle who, With 255 kills, 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defense, is the deadliest marksman in U.S. military history
While the film has been a hit with audiences with a record setting $90.2 million at the box office, and A-plus rating among critics, its subject matter is causing controversy among some in Hollywood for its perceived pro-war message. For example, just listen to a quote from documentarian Michael Moore, he says "So here's what I think about "American Sniper": Awesome performance from Bradley Cooper. One of the best of the year. Great editing. Costumes, hair, makeup superb! Oh... and too bad Clint (Eastwood) gets Vietnam and Iraq confused in his storytelling. And that he has his characters calling Iraqis "savages" throughout the film. But there is also anti-war sentiment expressed in the movie. And there's a touching ending as the main character is remembered after being gunned down by a fellow American vet with PTSD who was given a gun at a gun range back home in Texas -- and then used it to kill the man who called himself the 'America Sniper'." His words have garnered outrage from Hollywood and everyday Americans alike 
The large response also from social media has translated to widespread racism, also, against Arabs with people saying that this movie made them want to murder them. What I mostly had for this film was respect and I understood the patriotism conveyed through the masterful performances and great actors. Entertaining, tense and thrilling, "American Sniper" devolves into glorification by sugarcoating the truth and creatively changing details to assure we see the hero Chris Kyle was without most of the much darker anti-hero he also was. Eastwood has stripped things back so that we observe the action through American eyes only, our focus as blinkered as that of its titular killer which makes the American response justified and predictable. However, despite its many flaws, 'American Sniper' is still an engaging war drama with some excellent set-pieces and Bradley Cooper continues to showcase his superb acting chops.