He�ll destroy you from miles away

Bakang Israel | Friday January 30, 2015 14:19

 

The heat just keeps on coming, as this is another box office blockbuster after last week’s Taken 3.  This one is already regarded as movie of the year as American Sniper recently won the award at the 2015 American Film Institute Awards.

This movie is not yet out in Botswana, but yours truly received VIP access to screen this epic before it officially hit our screens as it premieres in 20 days’ time.  Now American Sniper is a 2014 American action and true story war drama film directed by Clint Eastwood.  Written by Jason Hall, it is based on Chris Kyle’s autobiography dubbed American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US Military History. 

With 255 kills, 160 of which were officially confirmed by the Department of Defence, Kyle is celebrated as the deadliest sharpshooter in US military history.

To give you a sneak peek into the film’s characters, rising star and funny man Bradley Cooper plays a more serious role as Chris Kyle, the great American war hero. Cooper made his mark with films like The Hangover trilogy, Silver Linings and The A-Team.  He is a four-time Oscar nominee.  Meanwhile, Sienna Miller is also in the cast as Taya Renae Kyle, the wife of the now late Kyle.

Miller appeared in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) and the 2014 biographical drama, Foxcatcher.  As for the brains and creativity behind American Sniper, this is a Clint Eastwood film.  At 84 years, the old man is a decorated Hollywood director who gave us Million Dollar Baby (2004), Grand Torino four years later and has four Oscars to his name.

Now though this film is based on a true-life story, it also does have a hard-core action feel to it with captivating events unfolding in the midst of the US and Iraq war.  In American Sniper, Eastwood tells life story of Chris Kyle.  From being a good huntsman with his precise shooting, Kyle is moved by a television news story when he sees his fellow American soldiers losing lives in battlefield in the Middle East war.

He decides to join the US Navy SEALS and is sent to Iraq with only one mission: to protect his brothers-in-arms. 

His pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, earns the nickname, Legend.

However, his reputation is also growing behind enemy lines, putting a price on his head and making him a prime target of insurgents.

He is also facing a different kind of battle of striving to be a good husband and father from halfway around the world.

Despite the danger, as well as the toll on his family at home, Kyle serves through four harrowing tours of duty in Iraq, personifying the SEAL code to ‘leave no man behind’.  But upon returning to his wife, Taya and the children, Kyle finds that it is the war he cannot leave behind.

Now since yours truly got to an exclusive view of why this movie is making airwaves, let me share a bit.  For starters the film is authentic and on top of that is a war genre.

However, this film offers first hand detailed description of the Iraq-US war.  It is quite intriguing in this film, to see how the soldiers deal with daily plot attacks from terrorists.

We also see the effects of war on society. Kyle is winning in the battlefield but at home he is losing his mind and family as he is always thinking of battle, which is very emotional for his wife to come second.  The movie visuals are good and creative so the cinematography is superb; the special effects in this movie are awesome.

Unlike other military battle films where fighting scenes are done at night, in American Sniper everything goes down in clear broad daylight.

There are sand storms, showcasing the difficult conditions of Iraq and the sound also makes one’s heart skip a beat when the shootouts begin which is very nicely done.

American Sniper has a sad ending.  You would want to see for yourself how it unfolds.

American Sniper is sitting pretty at the number one spot at the box office for the second weekend running.  It has already earned six Oscar award nominations.

The film has already accumulated a staggering $200 million in two weeks surpassing its $58 million budget and received a record premiere opening of sales of $92 million.

It compares well against Mark Wahlberg’s 2013 Lone Survivor action war film, which was also scintillating.

American Sniper gets a 7/10 rating as Lone Survivor has an edge over this one and we are yet to watch another military film, Fury starring Brad Pitt, which opens on Friday.

Movie: American Sniper

Genre: Action, Drama, Biography

Duration: 2 hours 13 mins

Age Restriction: Rated

Release Date: January 16, 2015

(Botswana release on February 20)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Main Cast: Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, Sienna Miller as Taya Renae Kyle