American Sniper Review
As an American Veteran of the United States Submarine force I have a very unique perspective on Clint Eastwood’s latest blockbuster smash hit “American Sniper.” To be clear, I never served over in Afghanistan or got anywhere near the Middle East for that matter. I was too busy chasing dust bunnies with a sponge and a dustpan. What I can tell you though, is that Clint Eastwood and his film team did their research when it came how the Navy conducts itself. Not once throughout this whole film did I find myself enraged by grave inaccuracies in the depiction of military life. They just simply weren’t there and if they were I didn’t notice them. Unlike some movies…
As said before, I never went over there but they sure as heck convinced me that what I was seeing on screen was (more or less) what it was like.
That being said let’s talk about the film. I have a number of friends who have expressed a deep love for this movie and I don’t blame them. It’s a very good movie that delves into the depths of the brutality of war without holding a whole lot back. It’s been a long time since…
(Gruesome Details)
I’ve seen a movie show a grown man shove a hand drill into a child’s skull. Just brutal. Absolutely brutal. Yet accurate of our terrorist foes.
(End of gruesome details)
Personally, I cannot say that I love this movie. Rather, I highly respect it. It’s a story skillfully told and is greatly worthy of praise for that fact alone. I can’t say that I love this movie because it just hits a little too close to home for me in many aspects. While I myself did not suffer the agony of taking another man’s life or having to deal with the blistering heat of the desert and war, I can say that my time in the service was less than pleasant.
Holocaust survivor and author Dr. Viktor E. Frankl said this…
“To draw an analogy: a man's suffering is similar to the behavior of a gas. If a certain quantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly, no matter how big the chamber. Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little. Therefore the "size" of human suffering is absolutely relative.” - Man’s Search For Meaning
Many of the same problems that Chris Kyle developed from his time in the service I too found myself suffering from. Mind you, I’m not comparing my service to that of Chris Kyle’s. I’m simply saying that I can, on some level, understand his emotional turmoil.
On another note… Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper did something that many other people would have failed miserably at. They simply told the story. They didn’t (to the best of my knowledge) embellish upon Chris Kyle’s life story and turn it into a farce. At no point in this movie did I sense that what I was seeing was anything less than the best retelling of this man’s legacy.
Except for maybe the baby…
All in all, it was a very good movie that is only hard to watch because it doesn’t soften the sheer ugliness of war from the viewing audience. I highly reccomend seeing it because it honestly (to the best of my knowledge) portrays a great American hero who faithfully served his country.
Rest in peace Chris Kyle. You earned it.
