American Sniper

American Sniper is a 2014 film based on the 2012 book of the same name written by the late Chris Kyle. The film stars Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, Sienna Miller as Taya Kyle, Luke Grimes as Marc Lee, Jake McDorman as Ryan "Biggles" Job and Cory Hardrict as 'D' / Dandridge. The film was directed by veteran actor Clint Eastwood. The film was released on December 25, 2014 and gotten a wider release on January 16, 2015.

Plot
U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) takes his sole mission -- protect his comrades -- to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. Despite grave danger and his struggle to be a good husband and father to his family back in the States, Kyle serves four tours of duty in Iraq. However, when he finally returns home, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Chris's life story is interesting.
 * 2) The film was well-written and pays tribute to Chris Kyle.
 * 3) The acting is authentic.
 * 4) Well done battle re-enactments.
 * 5) Actual footage of Chris's funeral is shown during the end credits.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) This film, while great, does have some historical inaccuracies. Chris Kyle didn't enlist in the military becuase he saw American lives lost on the television. He had always planned on joining after school. Also, the injuries he sustained during his Bronko Riding actually caused the Navy to reject him, but later on they reversed the decision.
 * 2) The infamous fake baby scene.
 * 3) There is a scene in the film where a child is murdered with a drill through the head in front of his father.  That scene drags out for too long and is very upsetting and disturbing.

Reception
American Sniper was praised by critics and audiences, with praise for Cooper's lead performance and Eastwood's direction, although it attracted some controversy over its portrayal of both the War in Iraq and Chris Kyle. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 72%, based on 294 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Powered by Clint Eastwood's sure-handed direction and a gripping central performance from Bradley Cooper, American Sniper delivers a tense, vivid tribute to its real-life subject." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend, audiences gave American Sniper a rare grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale.

Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com gave the film a 3 and a half out of 4 stars and described the film as "One of the more tough-minded and effective war pictures of post-American-Century American cinema."

Awards and nominations
American Sniper was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture. It won only Award for Best Sound Editing.