One of, if not, my favourite genre of movies has to be war (American War, to be specific). One of the things that I admire about our neighbours, The United States of ‘MURICA, is their patriotism. They love their country more than they love their own flesh & blood. I strongly believe that. There’s that distinguishing notion that they’re proud to be citizens of the ‘greatest country on Earth’ and will serve proudly to defend their sovereign state of land by any means necessary. They’ve been doing so for over 200 years, with war being something constantly engrained in the fabrics of the very flag they fly with said gargantuan pride. The reason why I love war movies is because of the different characters that are brought to the forefront to tell their tales in the line of duty that only a very few human beings can truly connect with. The movies are what help us ordinary, regular folk to gauge just a glimpse of what it was like over on the other side, and Chris Kyle is one of those stories to come to light. Much like Black Hawk Down, Platoon, Apocalypse Now, and The Hurt Locker (to name a few), this movie is focused entirely on a solder at war who wanted to do something to help protect their country from foreign threats, although America is one of the biggest threats to humanity towards the rest of the world, depending on who you ask. I’m not here to talk about the rights and wrongs of how they govern themselves and forcibly put themselves in places they shouldn’t – I’m just here to analyze a great piece of cinema capture by the legendary Clint Eastwood.

Sometimes people don’t know what their purpose is until they are faced with a situation that enables them to take matters into their own hands. They watch from afar (aka television) how the world is burning, so they volunteer to put the fires out. This was Chris Kyle’s story; the tale on just how he managed to become the United States’ deadliest asset in combat was remarkably played by Bradley Cooper, who is making a strong case to have his name drawn for the Best Actor award in this year’s Oscars (you’re on notice, Mr. Cumberbatch). Much like Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker and Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now, this movie concentrated on the mental aspect of what it’s like to see things that you wish you could un-see. The post-traumatic stress of combat, and trying to get back into your ideal situation (aka spending time with the people you love and fought to protect from foreign terrorists) isn’t easy at all, and you don’t need to be an expert in war to understand that. I think that Bradley Cooper did a great job keeping the depiction of Chris pure and it was also dramatic in a sense, because here you’re witnessing a man living his life in a way that his father had instructed him to. To be a protector. You can’t blame a man for doing that.

I know that a lot of people viewed this movie as a type of propaganda to get them to join the army in able to fight off the newest terrorist threat that’s plaguing the likes of Europe and Middle East, and that’ll forever be the case for any war movie that comes out, but in a cinematic perspective only, this movie was well done. Clint Eastwood is a legend because he does things quick with efficient attention to detail. If you’re going to do a war movie, you need all of the emotions to convey it being as close to real as possible. This movie had me from the very beginning, to the very end because you didn’t know what was going to happen until it happened. It’s very on edge, and the ending may disappoint people, but I understood why it ended the way it did. I mean, out of respect for the family. I don’t know what the purpose of these movies does for me exactly; it’s not always the combat and the brutal action that war brings. It’s the characters that are presented with different personalities that are compelling enough to seek interest in how they played a role (big or small) in the continuing fight for ‘freedom’. This year’s Oscar nominations are disappointing for the fact that there isn’t recognition that establishes diversity (it’s a problem every year, I’ve come to terms with that), but the bottom line is that this is a great movie and for movie fans, whether you like war movies or not, this should be seen. It’s worth every dollar. But in the end, this is my opinion, this is my review

That’s My Word & It STiXX