Chris Kyle was considered one of the deadliest snipers in American history, with 160 confirmed kills to his name. His memoir, American Sniper, detailed his four tours as a Navy SEAL during the Iraq War as well as a life back home, where his heroism continued (though anecdotes including everything from taking down carjackers to punching Jesse Ventura were oft-disputed). Whatever people believed, Kyle forged his own myth around a core of truth. He survived war. He saw it all. Somehow, none of that valor, dramatic intrigue, or moral complication seeps into Clint Eastwood's American Sniper, a stale adaptation with a lead performer struggling to dig deep.
Bradley Cooper looks the part. Packing on the muscle, growing out Kyle's frontiersman beard, and adding a Texas twang to his speech, Cooper's removes himself from lingering Hangover history to become the cowboy-turned-SEAL (literally: Kyle starts his career riding bulls only to give it up in favor of his country). Cooper's version of Kyle is a keen observer on and off the battlefield. Sniping demands split decisions. So does wooing the ladies or grappling with PTSD, two diametric hurdles Kyle jumps during his service years. Under the brim of a cap, Cooper's eyes constantly survey the scene, looking for solutions, even in his own home.
http://ift.tt/13XJxD8
No comments:
Post a Comment