Let's not waste any time arguing how much of this movie is fact and how much is fictitious. We know that Chris Kyle's unfortunate death could have easily been prevented, had he not been put into a situation with someone suffering from mental illness. Not PTSD, which the movie claims to be about, but mental illness. Mental illness not stemming from any war action, but something much more home grown. If you can't agree on that, then facts aren't your thing and you should probably just roll your eyes, call me a commie, traitor or whatever other false label makes you feel better about your ignorance. That being said, this is probably the closest part of the movie to the truth and it's not even seen.
The movie, according to Clint Eastwood is about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's important to note this was not at all what the movie was intended to be about, until Eastwood was criticized for glamorizing a hired killer. One who had it in his bones, since childhood. A truly disturbing early scene, very quietly lifts all of life's mistakes off of Kyle. Most missed it. It's also important to note that the tone of the movie and the book are so completely different, they are almost unrecognizable. Kyle, in the book (his apparent own words), somewhat enjoyed the hunt. Somewhat is my kind word, for loved. His battle with the act of killing wasn't nearly what it appeared and if you watch the movie closely, it really wasn't a battle. One scene, does not make a humanitarian out of a man. That being said, in the world of them or us, let's always choose them. I would too. So not judging a man in battle doing what he had to do, but I am judging one enjoying it. Speak to anyone who has been in battle and you steer clear of the ones who come back and revel in it. I view it as horrifying as grown men who speak of high school as their greatest years. I assume, a PTSD of a different sort.
The biggest issue I had with the film, as a film, was that it had no substance and was littered with war movie cliches. Don't mention future plan or else you die. Don't mention that god has a higher purpose for you or else you die. Also, very important, when a friend dies, show no emotion, but then quick cut to you being a stellar father and husband. It's all been done before and much better. In fact, it's been done better in films Eastwood was on the other side of the camera. By the time the credits roll and the real life footage kicks in (a scene that overwhelmed many vet), any normal person is disgusted with the propaganda they've sat through, but still appreciates what this man did in "defense" of his country. The lies, the exaggerations (not his kill list, but the circumstances) and the picture of what he became, are all a little too much for us who crave truth in biopics. The film fails in two plus hours to do what The Hurt Locker did in one magical final scene. For a movie that claims to have been about a serious problem in America, it never captured the essence of that problem, because that would have involved knocking a "Legend" of his pedestal and we don't like when that happens.
The movie, according to Clint Eastwood is about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's important to note this was not at all what the movie was intended to be about, until Eastwood was criticized for glamorizing a hired killer. One who had it in his bones, since childhood. A truly disturbing early scene, very quietly lifts all of life's mistakes off of Kyle. Most missed it. It's also important to note that the tone of the movie and the book are so completely different, they are almost unrecognizable. Kyle, in the book (his apparent own words), somewhat enjoyed the hunt. Somewhat is my kind word, for loved. His battle with the act of killing wasn't nearly what it appeared and if you watch the movie closely, it really wasn't a battle. One scene, does not make a humanitarian out of a man. That being said, in the world of them or us, let's always choose them. I would too. So not judging a man in battle doing what he had to do, but I am judging one enjoying it. Speak to anyone who has been in battle and you steer clear of the ones who come back and revel in it. I view it as horrifying as grown men who speak of high school as their greatest years. I assume, a PTSD of a different sort.
The biggest issue I had with the film, as a film, was that it had no substance and was littered with war movie cliches. Don't mention future plan or else you die. Don't mention that god has a higher purpose for you or else you die. Also, very important, when a friend dies, show no emotion, but then quick cut to you being a stellar father and husband. It's all been done before and much better. In fact, it's been done better in films Eastwood was on the other side of the camera. By the time the credits roll and the real life footage kicks in (a scene that overwhelmed many vet), any normal person is disgusted with the propaganda they've sat through, but still appreciates what this man did in "defense" of his country. The lies, the exaggerations (not his kill list, but the circumstances) and the picture of what he became, are all a little too much for us who crave truth in biopics. The film fails in two plus hours to do what The Hurt Locker did in one magical final scene. For a movie that claims to have been about a serious problem in America, it never captured the essence of that problem, because that would have involved knocking a "Legend" of his pedestal and we don't like when that happens.
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