American Sniper has dominated the box office for two weekends in a row, exceeding expectations even for a Clint Eastwood-directed film. And while audiences are enthralled with the true story of Chris Kyle–a talented sniper in the Iraq War–some are taking issue with the way he was portrayed.
Real Time host Bill Maher said last week that when comparing the film to, for instance, The Hurt Locker, the difference is that the Bradley Cooper vehicle wasn’t thoughtful.
“Hurt Locker made $17 million because it was a little ambiguous, and thoughtful. And this one was just, ‘American hero! He’s a psychopath patriot, and we love him,'” Maher said.
Several big names–including Rupert Murdoch and Michael Moore–feel that American Sniper glorified an unjust war, but Eastwood says there shouldn’t be a political slant to the film, which is meant to be more of a portrait of Kyle than anything else.
“The movie certainly has nothing to do with any (political) parties or anything. These fellows who are professional soldiers, Navy personnel or what have you, go in for a certain reason … and there’s no political aspect there other than the fact that a lot of things happen in war zones,” Eastwood told the Toronto Star.
There has been some ambiguity about the film, however; Seth Rogen, who tweeted that the film reminded him of the WWII propaganda-filled movie shown in the Tarantino film Inglorious Basterds, said later that he enjoyed American Sniper and that his comments were blown out of proportion.
American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that's showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 18, 2015
I just said something "kinda reminded" me of something else. I actually liked American Sniper. It just reminded me of the Tarantino scene.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 19, 2015
I wasn't comparing the two. Big difference between comparing and reminding. Apples remind me of oranges. Can't compare them, though.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 19, 2015
But if you were having a slow news day, you're welcome for me giving you the opportunity to blow something completely out of proportion.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) January 19, 2015
American Sniper star Bradley Cooper says that the movie was just meant to be the story of a soldier and what he goes through during a war.
“For me, and for Clint, this movie was always a character study about what the plight is for a soldier …But I can’t control how people are gonna use this movie as a tool, or what they pick and choose (to argue),” Cooper said.
American Sniper made over $100 million during its opening weekend and is still playing in theaters.
