American Sniper Essay

Once the lights dim, the screen expands, and the audience becomes silent, the greatest true story to be told is about to begin.   Chris Kyle, â€Å"Legend,† grew up in a small town in Texas with an aspiration to be a cowboy. He then realized he needed something different, more rewarding, which is when he decided to utilize his special talent by becoming a sniper in the navy SEALs. While in Iraq, Chris ventures out to protect his country from a villainous Iraqi warrior, â€Å"the Butcher.† Extremely difficult obstacles came about while in combat, but this did not stop him from reaching a record-breaking160 snipes. Kyle possessed an incredible skill set that caused his fellow soldiers to have an extreme level of respect toward him, and the nickname â€Å"Legend† was created due to their admiration. He even found himself in situations that he had to choose between protecting his country and doing what is morally correct. Almost every decision made by Chris, was one that benefited America in the greatest way. But his closest friends, small children, and even his enemies dying right in front of his eyes caused his mental state to be extremely damaged. Kyle then had to live the rest of his post-military life trying to cope with his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Not only was this movie and story an inspiration to millions, but also very informative of the reality of war now. Clint Eastwood did a great job recreating and honoring the incredible life of Chris Kyle. Although this movie is based on a true story, all of the components in this film were put together extremely well. American Sniper is indeed a war movie, but many of the aspects in it cause it to be so much more than just action-packed battles and gory blood baths. This film is hands down one of the best creations Eastwood has ever put forth. He portrayed the story in such a way that the audience felt inspired and moved by it. Creative twists and artistic choices he decided to make for this movie truly paid off. Bradley Cooper, a well-renowned actor, plays the main role of Chris Kyle and does an astounding job. He excellently captures his true character, and allows the audience to connect on a very deep level. Cooper remains extremely suave and allows his confidence to shine through while portraying this American hero. This role entailed strenuous amounts of training, and pushing ones body to a limit it has never reached before. He was required to gain weight, become a true â€Å"Texan† with an accent, and ultimately become an inspirational hero by being extraordinarily determined and brave. Bradley did an exceptional job at taking it on. This movie was set in a sandy, run-down village in Iraq; the setting had a great impact on the story as a whole. The Iraqi village members, members of the Taliban, and the terrorists that lived in or in the surrounding area made the movie to be very suspenseful and action-packed. The sand storm that occurred at the end of the movie brought on a huge turn of events for the soldier, leading most viewers to believe he wouldn’t make it out alive. Constantly changing scenes from the peaceful home in Texas where Chris’ wife and kids lived, to the treacherous overseas battlefield, caused the movie to remain very spontaneous. The constant snipes, battles, and hardships occurring throughout the movie kept the audience very intrigued by the story. The director did an excellent job capturing the true essence of how one should feel if they were ever put in the same heart-wrenching situation. The final scenes, as well as the credits, were the most impactful. They intelligently put actual footage of events that happened after Chris’ death. This allowed the audience to truly capture the amount of respect this one man gained from thousands of people. Many people gathered in honor of this hero. After watching the movie and learning more in-depth about his story, caused others to know why. Complete silence surrounds the theater once the movie came to an end. Everyone couldn’t help but to have a moment of silence, commemorating this great hero. After a movie, at a public theater, one will never see a reaction, from almost everyone there, of this sort. The atmosphere in the theater was one of sorrow and admiration. Emotions stirred through each individual in the audience, and most had a hard time holding them in. This aspiring story  touched millions of people’s lives. The movies runtime is approximately 134 minutes, which is quite long for most people. The content of the movie was so well spread out, that the amount of the time the movie ran did not seem nearly as long as it actually is. Eastwood did such a good job entertaining his audience, that the length of the movie was not much of a factor when one watched the film. This movie received a rating of â€Å"R† due to war violence, and vulgar language. Although a large amount of people were unable to view this film because of it’s rating, it was definitely necessary for it to be included. The gory aspects and the tasteless choice of vocabulary only furthered the impact this film had on its audience. The soundtrack used in this movie was very well picked. â€Å"The Funeral†, which is the song used for the credits, is one that really impacted most people. The track is perfectly suitable for the slideshow that is shown at the credits of the film; it caused hundreds of thousands of people to shed a tear because of how emotionally impactful the song is. American Sniper received a well-deserved rating of four stars from the credible source IMDb. Another source, Roger Ebert, rated the film at four and a half stars. These well-known movie critics giving this movie such a good review, proves how successful Clint Eastwood was in the making of American Sniper. The well-done acting, special effects, script, scenery, and storyline all had a positive impact on the high rating this movie received. A lot of comparison of American Sniper and Lone Survivor has occurred. They are both about the incredible stories of an average man going on tour while apart of the military. Both men had to experience events a typical person would never want to experience. Debatably, American Sniper is a better version of Lone Survivor. Although, both brilliant, insightful stories, American Sniper was more impressive according to several audiences. American Sniper is definitely a movie to be remembered and recommended for generations on end. It is one of the greatest stories of all time, and the movie does an incredible job at portraying it. This film does Chris and his  story much justice; the theme and overall point of the film came across almost perfectly. Not one person should go without seeing this film, and miss out on the amazing story it withholds.