Posted on 01/17/2015 1:48:51 AM PST by lee martell
Considering that the movie American Sniper written about Chris Kyle, and directed by Clint Eastwood has been out since the last week of December, I may be late to the game expressing an opinion. I'll say it anyway, this is one of the best movies I've ever experienced. Notice I say, 'experienced, vs just 'seen', because the film becomes exactly that, something anticipated, tolerated, endured and later celebrated. Certain portions of the film resemble riding along with the police during their night shifts, or at least what most people expect these shifts to be like.
I know very little about the actual gunnery, uniforms and vehicles used by our troops while in midst of battle, but based on what I presume to be the truth, this movie pulls you the viewer into the drama to the point you are forced to learn and acknowledge. I was impressed with the formations the soldiers would take when they arrived on an active scene. All directions , all angles were being observed and had someone in position ready to defend that area of their vision. Again, very similar to how I've seen police operate when entering a private home. A lot of their power was garnered by the sudden burst of activity, once they entered a room or a dwelling. As they entered, the group became an indistinct mass of guns, helmets, shouted orders, all meant for a shock and awe effect. The scenes where the soldiers must search door to door for particular enemies are bracing, riveting, frightening, because, were you part of that team, you wouldn't know what to expect, but you push forward anyway, refusing to be ruled by your realistic fears, refusing to become paralyzed by your suspicions. Most of us prioritize the sense of survival over everything else. Some people see the same risks we do , but don't allow that to stop them from completing their mission of the moment.
The movie was able to show a multi-faceted image of Chris Kyle without allowing an exposed imperfection or vulnerability in character to cancel out all of the good that his focus and patriotism was able to do, which is usually what happens in war themed movies. In truth, the main character was able to accomplish so much and protect so many American servicemen because he was one of those unusual people who could compartmentalize his life. Yes, he cherished his time with his wife and one could see how his two children adored him, but he was able to give himself heart and soul to his first mission, which was to protect. This mission seems to have started way back, when he and his younger brother were under 10 years old.
The leadership figure in his life, his father, gave him that duty, and he accepted it from that time on. It was akin to the acceptance of knightship. Most other kids would never perceive the role of protector so deeply. To be honest, the only possible 'negative' was the full stream of profanity, which, as I well know, may have been necessary to make the story more believable. I only bring this up because the theatre I went into (five minutes after the start) was filled up almost to the max. At first I thought I would have to accept literally sitting in the front two rows due to the crowd. I found a better seat though, next to a family with little kids, as in six or seven. I didn't like the idea of six year old kids hearing all this 'blue' language, but a. They're not my kids, and b. Society has changed, and cursing is not as verboten anymore, at least not at the cinema. Anyways, I enjoyed the movie, but will not be returning to see it for a few years or so.
Is Jesse Ventura getting a share of the movie profits to satisfy his judgment?
I would send Kyle’s widow cash before giving that boa-wearing freak a penny.
Here you go:
I’ve loved every Clint Eastwood movie I’ve ever seen, beginning with the Spaghetti westerns and more recently “Gran Torino,” “Heartbreak Ridge” and “Firefox.”
I didn’t care for the language either, but regarding young children, I would be more concerned with their viewing the graphic (but in this case, not gratuitous) images of violence. Their young minds cannot process and make sense of that. Shame on their parents.
One thing that's not plausible to me is that he talks to his wife on a sat phone in the middle of combat. Does anyone actually do that? Not only that, but he's in combat in Iraq in the daytime, and she's talking to him from California, where it's also daytime. Having had a loved one deployed to the ME before, I know that's not in the cards.
Actually, my college roommate was in Iraq talking to his daughter on his sat phone and the same thing happened.
My friend was a VP in a fortune 500 company who paid him 100% of his salary, and he was drawing full time LTC salary too. He was divorced and sold his house when he deployed—he was going to move anyway. This guy had a ton of cash and figured that a sat phone was worth the money.
He would call me up during the day, just to chat.
It was eerie. It was really kind of amazing. I can only imagine how great it would have been in WWII to be able to call home from the jungles.
But yes...the scenes were accurate.
I’m sure Clint was very careful to avoid any mention or implied references to Jesse The Body, someone i used to think a lot of.
I also found that strange, not to mention inappropriate, to be chatting with the little woman while engaged in battle. Most husbands would know better than to call a heavily pregnant wife then anyway. That kind of stress could induce a miscarriage. Plus that live connection would give away his position.
HUGE box-office receipts on Friday night...most were expecting 40 million or so over the four-day weekend, but it grossed $30 million on Friday alone (counting $5 million from limited showings on Thursday). It will set a new record at the box office for the month of January by a country mile.
The theater here was 10 seats short of sold out and they’ve cancelled other movies to show Sniper in more rooms tonight.
I want to see it but will wait until it’s on tv.
“I want to see it but will wait until it’s on tv.”
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Aw,come on,it’s not the same thing.
Similar to sports events——it’s just more of an experience when you are actually there rather than watching at home.
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The theater was packed when I was there last night. In front of me, an elderly couple wanted two chatty young ladies to move back so this couple could squeeze their way to the middle seats which were still empty.
The two girls keep chewing their popcorn and just stared, first at each other, then at the couple as though they didn’t understand why anyone would be standing there saying “Excuse me!”. Finally, the man motioned a slight wave of his hand, and said in a calm voice “Don’t worry about it.” So the two of them had to take seats three rows from the front due to these girls being too stubborn to move. If it was just one person, and I was not having foot problems, I would have offered my seat.
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