Bradley Cooper shoots to thrill in Clint Eastwood’s modern western, American Sniper

VETERAN director Clint Eastwood pits good versus evil in a thriller based on the life of Navy SEAL, Chris Kyle, played by Bradley Cooper.

American Sniper (MA15+)

Director: Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby)

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman

Rating: ***1/2

The more the heat, the more he fires

No real surprise that this electrifying war drama is the work of director Clint Eastwood.

Courtesy of a decorated career before and behind the camera, Eastwood is a man who knows all too well how to pit good against evil. With much gunplay thrown in for good measure.

This is the true story of Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), the Navy SEAL who is ranked as the most effective wartime sniper in US military history.

Bradley Cooper in a scene from American Sniper. Picture: AP Photo/Warner Bros.

During four tours to Iraq last decade, Kyle sent an estimated 160 enemy militiamen to their deaths. Many believe that figure to be much higher.

While the movie is no way a wanton celebration of killing in the line of the duty, there is a proudly patriotic streak to Eastwood’s approach that some viewers may find worryingly simplistic.

In Eastwood’s eyes, Chris Kyle is a man for who whom reflex had to trump reflection every time. American Sniper makes a compelling case that this is the only way a trained assassin can live with what he has done in the past. And will do again in the future.

Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller star in American Sniper. Picture: Roadshow

With such a straightforward point to prove, American Sniper is content to merely poke a pinhole in the psyche of Kyle. His true personality — aside from a gregarious nature that drew his fellow soldiers to him — remains equally elusive.

However, Kyle (whose best-selling autobiography is the main source for the screenplay) was in essence a simple man who saw the world primarily in shoot-or-be-shot terms.

On this level, Eastwood’s film powerfully communicates these terms to the viewer, particularly once he isolates Kyle’s equivalent on the other side: a chillingly skilled Iraqi marksman who can terminate a target from a kilometre away.

On set ... Bradley Cooper. Picture: Roadshow

Each time Kyle returns to Iraq, his fearsome reputation grows. But so too does his frustration at never getting a clear shot at his nemesis, who is rumoured to film his kills and sell them on DVD across the Arab region.

Strip away the modern military fatigues of American Sniper, and you’ll find the heart of an old-fashioned western beating very strongly indeed.

There is going to be a showdown. The streets are empty. The law has no say in what is going to happen.

Both participants in this duel to the death will be blasting away at one another according to beliefs each are prepared to die for.

This isn’t the wild, wild west of yesteryear. It is the maddening, saddening Middle East of today.

Originally published as Bradley Cooper shoots to thrill in Clint Eastwood’s modern western, American Sniper