American Sniper (2014)
My review of this movie is divided between historical accuracy and artistic value.
From the historical standpoint, the movie plays like a propaganda piece, or a recruiting advertisement, for the US military. The movie glorifies the military's heroics in a war that was unjustified and built on lies that the Bush administration made to the American people. The bad guys in the movie, known by US media at the time as "insurgents", are one dimensional and not acknowledged as a resistance group fighting a military force that had invaded their land and country. But yet again, Clint Eastwood, a renowned champion for the Republican Party, is the director of the film, so the lopsided patriotic sentiments expressed in the film are understood.
For that, I give the movie
Now from the artistic standpoint, the movie is a breath-taking cinematic experience. The war scenes are intense (think Saving Private Ryan), and the acting is even more intense. Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle with such flair and sincerity that an Academy Award nomination is well-deserved.
For that I give the movie
By averaging out the score, the movie earns an overall rounded-up rating of