The biographical tale of Chris Kyle, legendary sniper from Desert Storm.
As a veteran of Desert Storm, I usually have a problem with military movies and particularly ones set in Desert Storm... they are usually overly-maudlin, or use military imagery in a disrespectful way to manipulate the unsuspecting civilian public into an emotional response.
Not this film.
I am thankful that Chris Kyle was brought on board as a producing consultant. Instead of being a treacly watercolor image of war with no basis in reality, I found it to be gripping and true. It's just a shame that there was such an abundance of story that it had to be condensed down for Hollywood standards, because it felt heavily edited and seemed to jump around a lot.
The attentive will catch all the subtle cues to the multiple reactions caused by PTSD... a pneumatic wrench at the car shop, a playful dog nuzzling a child's neck, and so on. I felt that this was also portrayed without excessive drama in a respectful and possibly educational manner. It's a shame the man didn't live to see this film.
Leave the knitting alone for this one... there's just too much going on. I would also suggest watching the DVD in a darkened room with no chance of reflection on the screen, as the sequence in the sandstorm was impossible to watch in our daylight-filled living room... it ended up being a beige blur where you couldn't see a single figure or movement on screen.
I give this a four and a half out of five stars. If only they could have let it be as long as it needed to be without the quick cuts and jumps from the sandbox to stateside, it would have been a perfect film. Maybe that's the way the book reads, as well... I haven't read it... but it felt like they went through and cherry-picked what would look good on film without thought to the flow. But it's a respectful film with an accurate portrayal of a war that has affected a lot of our men and women veterans, and deserves your attention at least once.
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