So this is my female, novice, non-SOC opinion of the movie.
I agree with most of what Ooh-Rah stated already, however, as a woman, I didn't feel the emotional connection between Cooper and Miller. I felt they portrayed her as an A #1 bitch on wheels in the movie. Maybe she was, but I doubt that. I have yet to read the book and see what Kyle says about her. I doubt it's that though.
I too felt they didn't spend enough time on the interpersonal relationships in the movie. Ditto on the lack of elaborating on the role Kyle's dad played in his life. The scene of them at the dinner table was just plain weird as it was so abrupt. With the exception of Cooper, I didn't feel connected to the characters because of it. I felt connected to Cooper's character as they spent so much time on it. I felt they lacked the sheer brutal experience of his BUDS/SEAL training. I thought it fell short. I thought the war scenes were great, but I felt myself picking them apart. Who confirmed Kyle's super long kill? In the movie, it makes it seem like he was the only one who knew he hit the guy, even though it wasn't the same guy he killed in real life, according to my research. I feel they should have gotten that one true to the facts as it is an important fact in his career and another reason for his nick name.
The movie made it seem like all spotters do is talk smack, play video games and basically don't do their job. Not cool and I felt bad for all spotters after that. In their role, they never called out any adjustments to their sniper. Sheesh. Even this female ex-HM knows the basics of a spotter! Good grief!
The movie overall spend about 85% on the combat scenes and 15% on interpersonal relationships, not nearly enough.
It should have been longer. I would have sat through a much longer movie. Hell, I watched 3+ hr Lord of the Rings movies for that matter! I would have gladly watched a 4 hour movie and they should have let it be so.
I just didn't "feel" this movie. I don't think it is Oscar-worthy in the least. I posted on FB to wait and rent it on DVD. Wish I would have.
I ordered the hardcover of American Sniper from Amazon today. Can't wait to read it!
The subject matter of the film, Kyle’s role in killing a record number of people as a sniper in Iraq and Afghanistan, “is causing controversy among some in Hollywood for its perceived pro-war message,” USA Today reported Monday.
Is being pro-war a bad thing? Sometimes people just need their asses kicked.