American Sniper MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 Content: -3

Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes. War/action/bio. Directed by Clint Eastwood.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Based on a true story, the film recounts the military career of a Navy S.E.A.L. Trained as a sniper whose job was to protect advancing soldiers into hostile zones, the film recreates many of his more than 150 confirmed kills.

PREVIEW REVIEW: Superbly directed and memorably acted by Bradley Cooper, American Sniper does what most great military films do: deliver a thoughtful exhortation on the wages of war. While it is pro God (Chris carried a Bible at all times) and country (he did four tours of duty), it points out the haunting price paid for freedom.

In Eastwood’s Unforgiven, his lead character, a former gunman, speaks one of the most telling lines in movie history: “It’s a hell of a thing killin’ a man. You take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have.” While the statement is not completely true (at least for those who die and spend eternity with our Lord and Savior), it does reveal the inner turmoil a man of conscience goes through upon examination of the deed. (Much documentation has been collected to back up that philosophy.)

Such was the case with Navy S.E.A.L. Chris Kyle. This is why we honor our military. They face and remember horrors most of us will never have to endure. The film reminded me not just to thank our soldiers when I see them, but to pray the Lord will replace their nightmares with peaceful dreams, and gently restore wounded bodies and minds.

Politics takes a back seat – or better still, political agendas are packed up in the U-Haul trailer. The film is mainly an edgy, tension-driven wartime thriller. A little long at 134 minutes (it seems like Eastwood is showing us nearly every one of those 150 kills), American Sniper stands out due to the production values and a superb cast. But beware, it’s a film about men in war. It’s brutal and peppered with obscenity.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Warner Bros.