7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.2 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.1 |
A Navy SEAL recounts his military career, which includes more than 150 confirmed kills.
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman, Cory HardrictAction | 100% |
History | 34% |
Biography | 32% |
War | 31% |
Melodrama | 21% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital Plus 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
French DD Plus: 640 kbps
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Few films -- War or otherwise -- have proven so precisely and intimately capable of presenting the dual destructive forces of war on man quite so well as American Sniper, Director Clint Eastwood's Iraq War film based on the autobiography of the same name by the late Navy SEAL Sniper Chris Kyle. Sniper is less a traditional "War" picture and more a study of the human condition. The film takes a look at how war externally and internally reshapes man and the people closest to him, particularly the people who fight their own wars off the front not against a traditional enemy but against the nature of war itself and the emotional tolls it takes on the soul. While the movie loosely follows the story of Kyle in the Iraqi theater, building up a few composite and manufactured quests for him along the way, it remains true to the spiritual essence of the book, offering a blunt, straightforward, and unapologetic look at how war shaped Kyle and his marriage, how it altered, and in some ways reinforced, his outlook on life and created a rift by way of a dual sense of commitment to his brothers-in-arms and his family back home, commitments that were always at odds with one another, resulting in an inward battle that often seemed more difficult for Kyle than life from his sniper's perch in Iraq's most dangerous cities.
Overwatch.
American Sniper's 1080p transfer looks terrific in most every shot. The image can go a touch flat and pasty in its most obviously digital moments, but generally the picture quality yields a fully realized image that captures every nuance with ease. The opening shot of tank treads rolling through war-ravaged debris sets a positive tone, where every sharp edge of rubble and each little textural nuance on the treads and tank body are marvelously reproduced. Kyle's ball caps, heavy uniform stitching, web gear, and weapon coating wear all help create an intimate portrait of the man, the tools he carries, and the environment in which he fights, but it's perhaps the transfer's ability to capture Cooper's expert performance of Kyle, not only through a thick beard and general build but deeply into the eyes and down into the soul, a subtlety that very well may become lost in lower definition or even lower grade transfers, that make this a great image. Colors are rich and precise with plenty of earthy shades in the Middle East but a nice variety of hues back home in the Kyle home and in other various locations, such as a woodland shooting range or a bar. Black levels are deep with only a mild push that's too heavy in a couple of shots. A heavy sandstorm later in the film produces minor banding at its thickest, but the image is otherwise free of any unwanted intrusions. This is a robust, healthy picture that serves the movie well.
American Sniper arrives on Blu-ray with a Dolby Atmos (core Dolby TrueHD 7.1, sampled for the purpose of this review) sound presentation that excels at every turn. The picture opens with Muslim prayers intersecting with a rumbling tank, the former giving way and drifting into the back channels and the latter presenting firmly in the front with a noticeable heft and appropriate rattle. Battle scenes are remarkably precise and expertly designed. Light gunfire frequently pops throughout backgrounds, but up-close firefights feature both suppressed and unsuppressed weapons hitting hard, the former with a lighter, sharp tone and the latter a heavier, more crackling sensation. Spent brass shell casings fall to the floor in a symphony of realistically placed and perfectly tuned chaos. Explosions hit hard and with a good amount of subwoofer support, but never so hard that the audience is dazed or pulled out of the experience. Lighter ambience defines a number of other scenes, such as light breezes or background chatter, all making full use of the surrounds and the added channels in the middle-back. Stateside, crowd applause at a rodeo files through the back and dialogue echoes nicely through the stage during a church service seen early in the movie. General dialogue is well prioritized and clearly delivered from the center with only one or two brief instances where it's a challenge to make out underneath surrounding din. This is a reference quality presentation from Warner in every regard.
American Sniper contains two supplements. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV digital
copy.
Despite its broad critical praise, American Sniper proved divisive along parts of the political spectrum. While speaking of the movie, liberal filmmaker Michael Moore called snipers "cowards" but went on to defend his position and claim a broader support for the troops in the fallout of his comments. Actor Seth Rogan compared the film to Nazi propaganda. On the other side, countless conservative commentators were quick to defend the film and its subject. Yet through the noise, audiences flocked to the movie and the Academy saw fit to grace it with several key Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor. But such trifling things as who loved it or who didn't, who went to see it and who didn't, what it won and what it didn't, all seem insignificant next to the film's deep and intimate grandeur of its depiction of the deeper consequences of war seen more through the prism of the soul and less through the eyes or experienced by the body. It's a masterwork of storytelling and a fascinatingly intimate look into the essence of man and how war can shape him, define him, and reinforce his ideals, sometimes to the betterment of who he is and sometimes to the detriment of those around him. Kyle's legacy isn't that of a killer but rather a helper, a man who fought not to kill but to save, a man who, even at the price of some distance from his family and even his own life, lived only in service of others. Eastwood's film is a fitting, satisfying tribute that should live on for decades to come as one of the great War and character films of its time. Warner Brothers' Blu-ray release of American Sniper is a little thin on extra content, but video is excellent and sound is terrific. American Sniper earns my highest recommendation.
2014
Bonus Content
2014
2014
The Chris Kyle Commemorative Edition
2014
The Chris Kyle Commemorative Edition | Patriotic Heroes Reissue
2014
Iconic Moments
2014
2014
2014
2018
2016
2001
2014
2016
2001
2019
2010
2012
Commemorative 20th Anniversary Edition
1998
2014
2011
Director's Cut
2005
2002
Yip Man 4 / 葉問4
2019
1997
2006
2012
2000
The Ultimate Cut
2004