I don’t know that it accomplishes the same covert intricacy as some other Eastwood films, but it was interesting to revisit.

The script and direction are unabashedly skewed towards feeding a lowest-common-denominator notion of war heroes and takes a righteous stand in favour of war, rather than exploring or portraying an authentic picture of the psychological impact...

For many, I suspect, American Sniper may be weirdly liberating-gratifying a perhaps hitherto unsuspected desire to see their pessimism, hopeless and unchanging, projected on the screen.

Eastwood steers clear of politics—it’s not about questioning the mission, it’s about the toll the mission takes on victims and survivors alike.