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I think a majority of people who understand this film for what it is are somehow related to the military; have served, or is very close to someone who served, or is a sibling or parent or close relative to someone who served, and knows of the trials and tribulations of being in a war and have killed another human being, and the subsequent post traumatic stress (PTS) and eventual struggle with trying to fit back in to society when it's over and they come home and hang up the uniform. To me, that was the key to Bradley Cooper performance, his portrayal of a fighting soldier coming home and trying to fit back into a society where most don't understand what he went through and the turmoil that goes on in the mind of a PTS victim.
Sorry, but I disagree. The only stress that the Bradley Cooper 'Chris' displayed was readjusting to a less exciting civilian life away from all the action. He missed his buddies and the adrenaline rush of the day to day battlefield. That was my central issue with this movie - very little humanity in his character portrayal. And I've known many, many returning vets who maintain a great deal of patriotism, but still feel profoundly conflicted and traumatized about the violence they saw during their tour of duty. Didn't see that in this movie whatsoever.
Fox News has been promoting this movie endlessly ever since the movie was released. Every news progam on Fox News has at least one segment devoted to American Sniper. I can't help but wonder if Fox was the movie company that made this movie. With that kind of 24/7 coverage, it' s no wonder this movie is breaking so many box office records. I would take the movie with a grain of salt. With Fox so much involved with it seems contrived leaving me to think there's some kind of an agenda with this movie, just like there is with nearly every controversial topic that Fox News can hype up in its own folksy, self-righteous, holier-than-thou, patriotic way.
Last edited by Ivory Lee Spurlock; 01-26-2015 at 12:45 PM..
Sorry, but I disagree. The only stress that the Bradley Cooper 'Chris' displayed was readjusting to a less exciting civilian life away from all the action. He missed his buddies and the adrenaline rush of the day to day battlefield. That was my central issue with this movie - very little humanity in his character portrayal. And I've known many, many returning vets who maintain a great deal of patriotism, but still feel profoundly conflicted and traumatized about the violence they saw during their tour of duty. Didn't see that in this movie whatsoever.
His issue was he felt like he NEEDED to be over there to save Americans lives. Not because he loved being over there.
This is also how he got into helping returning soldiers with PTSD. He wanted to help his brothers and sisters. They in turn helped him reintegrate into civilian life. He felt like he was still saving lives.
I swear, I think some posters spaced out through this movie.
I agree that Cooper did show Kyle as feeling like he failed his soldier-brothers by not being there to protect them...and I think the movie did show that he experience some level of remorse/grief about some of the acts he committed even though he never felt that what he was doing--shooting civilians or military personnel who threatened US military--was wrong or immoral...
SPOILER--although after all this time I don't know who would complain--
there is one scene toward end of the movie when Kyle is involved in shooting someone w/some type of missle launcher/anti-tank weapon...he shoots that Iraqui civilian and a boy picks up the weapon and looks like he is going to try to shoot US military--
you can hear Kyle/Cooper as he is sighting in the boy saying "put it down, put it down...don't do it..." because if he sees that boy capable of shooting the weapon he will end the child--period...just as he did at the beginning of his first exposure to warfare...
and I think part of the anger shown by Kyle/Cooper when they are doing surveillance on a target and using a family's home--are given a dinner by the family and seemingly treated w/respect--then finds out the man is likely a sniper himself and definitely has weapons stored in his home is because he had let down his guard--
he believed they were "human" after calling the enemy "evil" and "devils"-- and so he had to constantly stay in that mind set--
that there basically were no "friendlies" over there--
terrible stress--which was shown somewhat when he returned home and was around loud noises, cars tailgating, barking dogs--all which replicated the war environment he was attuned to--
but Kyle himself and Cooper replicating Kyle apparently didn't have a crisis of faith or severe PTSD--
consider Tom Hanks falling apart in "Saving Private Ryan" or some of the episodes of "Band of Brothers" with the fatigue and disillusionment soldiers felt--
Forget Fox News--this movie is making money which shows popular support so Fox News is hopping on the bandwagon and using it (like it does so many oher things) to fit Fox's purpose--
There are better war movies and better performances in them--
Anthony Mackie was top notch as was Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker"
and if you want to see a movie that documents the damage that being in war can do after soldiers leave the theater watch "The Valley of Elah" w/Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron--
supposedly based on true story and graphically shows that our military is left high and dry after leaving the battlefield for issues like PTSD...
seen this movie on Thursday and definitely enjoyed it, depicts the brutal reality of what is happening over there and of course issues with PTSD, thought Bradley Cooper did amazing as well as Sienna Miller
War movies are always hard to watch but always so intriguing, especially for someone like me who doesn't fully understand the minds of navy seals, marines, etc. They are very brave men and women and I know this movie doesn't do justice to what they have to endure (especially BUDS training!)
Of course. You put a definitive on your statement, but I was just pointing out that I liked those movies, and obviously so did the Academy. I wasn't trying to be mean though. Everyone's tastes are different.
I agree that Cooper did show Kyle as feeling like he failed his soldier-brothers by not being there to protect them...and I think the movie did show that he experience some level of remorse/grief about some of the acts he committed even though he never felt that what he was doing--shooting civilians or military personnel who threatened US military--was wrong or immoral...
SPOILER--although after all this time I don't know who would complain--
there is one scene toward end of the movie when Kyle is involved in shooting someone w/some type of missle launcher/anti-tank weapon...he shoots that Iraqui civilian and a boy picks up the weapon and looks like he is going to try to shoot US military--
you can hear Kyle/Cooper as he is sighting in the boy saying "put it down, put it down...don't do it..." because if he sees that boy capable of shooting the weapon he will end the child--period...just as he did at the beginning of his first exposure to warfare...
and I think part of the anger shown by Kyle/Cooper when they are doing surveillance on a target and using a family's home--are given a dinner by the family and seemingly treated w/respect--then finds out the man is likely a sniper himself and definitely has weapons stored in his home is because he had let down his guard--
he believed they were "human" after calling the enemy "evil" and "devils"-- and so he had to constantly stay in that mind set--
that there basically were no "friendlies" over there--
terrible stress--which was shown somewhat when he returned home and was around loud noises, cars tailgating, barking dogs--all which replicated the war environment he was attuned to--
but Kyle himself and Cooper replicating Kyle apparently didn't have a crisis of faith or severe PTSD--
consider Tom Hanks falling apart in "Saving Private Ryan" or some of the episodes of "Band of Brothers" with the fatigue and disillusionment soldiers felt--
Forget Fox News--this movie is making money which shows popular support so Fox News is hopping on the bandwagon and using it (like it does so many oher things) to fit Fox's purpose--
There are better war movies and better performances in them--
Anthony Mackie was top notch as was Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker"
and if you want to see a movie that documents the damage that being in war can do after soldiers leave the theater watch "The Valley of Elah" w/Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron--
supposedly based on true story and graphically shows that our military is left high and dry after leaving the battlefield for issues like PTSD...
I think people think all returning veterans deal with PTSD in exactly the same way, but they don't. My grandfather fought in the Pacific in WWII, and never spoke a word about it for the rest of his life (at least to his wife and children and grandchildren). He drank a lot, moved on and raised a family. It probably helped that nearly all men his age were also veterans of that war. He didn't really like the Japanese though, and that's entirely because of what he saw over there and what they did to his friends. I believe had he lived a longer life he probably would have overcome that dislike, but he died in his 50's and I'm not sure what he believed in the end. I'm sure all those soldiers who stumbled across the concentration camps in Europe had similar feelings about the Germans. Imagine what the Jews felt about the Germans. I doubt they thought of them as anything other than savages.
Chris Kyle was raised to believe men behaved a certain way. Just because he said he thought his enemy were savages and wished he could have killed more, you have to take that in context. He was saying specifically the people he killed were savages and he wished he could have killed more. I'm not willing to condemn him for saying these things. War is complicated, and everyone deals with it in their own way.
Ok, he shot people from long distance, we could see their eyes. I don't like any movie or book that glorifies war. There is no glory in war. only horror and sadness. Most of the guys I served with, came back and led normal lives. There was nothing normal about Chris Kyle. According to the excerpts I have seen, In the book he said he loved killing. He was mentally ill. The VA failed him. He should have had treatment.
Multiple scenes in the movie portray Kyle as haunted by his service. One of the film’s earliest reviews praised it for showing the “emotional torment of so many military men and women.” But that torment is completely absent from the book the film is based on. In the book, Kyle refers to everyone he fought as “savage, despicable” evil. He writes, “I only wish I had killed more.” He also writes, “I loved what I did. I still do. If circumstances were different – if my family didn’t need me – I’d be back in a heartbeat. I’m not lying or exaggerating to say it was fun. I had the time of my life being a SEAL.” On an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s show he laughs about accidentally shooting an Iraqi insurgent. He once told a military investigator that he doesn’t “shoot people with Korans. I’d like to, but I don’t.
I sense that some feel unease at the thought that Chris actually enjoyed what he was doing for the sheer adrenaline rush and thrill of danger and combat. Sure, he cared about helping others and saving American lives, but it's that brotherhood he missed most, of sharing in the danger and excitement.
That's why you have such an extreme of opinions. Some want to minimize this aspect of Chris that comes across from his book. They'll state that while he said some extreme things, he only meant it from the viewpoint of saving American lives. Even Eastwood decided to portray Chris quite different from the book, as someone that was more moderate and 'noble,' not one to make inflammatory statements. Others want to portray Chris as bloodthirsty.
I see nothing wrong with Chris or anyone else in the military saying they enjoyed doing what they did, not out of any patriotic or noble purpose necessarily, but for the thrill of the hunt and the excitement of putting your life on the line in a high stress environment. To go from war with your buddies you trust with your very life, to a life back home that is boring by comparison, that's a huge let down.
Of course. You put a definitive on your statement, but I was just pointing out that I liked those movies, and obviously so did the Academy. I wasn't trying to be mean though. Everyone's tastes are different.
More and more, the Academy rewards sociopolitical agendas of which it approves and promotes and nothing else.
The vast majority of my favorite movies, the best movies IMO, are not the "buzz" on Oscar night. Unforgiven was just another in a long list of disappointing lowest common denominator movies, as all more recent Eastwood works tend to be. Put another (unknown) name on most of these films and they stay on the long list of movies that nobody's ever seen or heard of.
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