A former United States Army drill sergeant explained why 2014’s American Sniper is realistic. Directed by Clint Eastwood, it tells a true story based on the life and military career of US Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, played by Bradley Cooper, who was one of the most lethal snipers in American history. The film has a score of 72% on Rotten Tomatoes, and earned Cooper an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In addition to Cooper, the cast of American Sniper includes Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, and Kyle Gallner.
In a video for Insider, retired US Army drill sergeant Lamont Christian rated the accuracy of boot camp scenes in various movies and TV shows. For American Sniper, Christian reviewed the scene in which Chris Kyle and his comrades are all freezing on a beach, and are forced to submerge themselves in the water. Christian praised the movie’s depiction of “Hell Week,” and gave the scene an impressive accuracy score of 9 out of 10. Read his full quotes below:
That was pretty realistic right there. As you can see, it’s in the middle of the night there. They’re shaking, they’re cold. And this was one of those tough weeks, you always hear about it on TV and in movies, where they talk about Hell Week, the part where they’re testing their metal to see if they got what it takes… Then you look at the physical aspects of it, a lot of these guys were dealing with possible hypothermia and things like that.
As a Navy SEAL, you have to be prepared to be in the water, stay in the water, live in the water. It’s not necessarily to break them, but it’s to find where their breaking point is, and if somebody finds themselves in that position where they quit, then they recognize that perhaps, just perhaps, they don’t have what it takes to go into combat.
What Christian’s Accuracy Score Means For American Sniper
American Sniper Deals With Topics Such As PTSD
American Sniper’s true story showcases the oftentimes difficult life of Chris Kyle, and has always been praised for its realism. While action-packed war scenes can often be the main focus of war movies, Eastwood, Cooper, and the rest of the team highlighted how challenging things were for Chris Kyle and his family. In the particular scene that Christian reviewed, it is evident how difficult the training was for Kyle, and successfully showcased how much he had to overcome, long before he was ever honored for his achievements in the military.
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Beyond its depiction of boot camp, critics and audiences also applauded American Sniper for its depiction of PTSD. Throughout the movie, Chris Kyle was never comfortable at home, and was always itching to return to war. This created many problems for his family, and demonstrated how difficult readjusting to normal life can be for army veterans. Therefore, both Eastwood and Cooper told an emotional story with that served as a complex evaluation of a real life military figure.
Our Take On American Sniper’s Accuracy Score
The way Clint Eastwood directs the beach boot camp scene in American Sniper successfully conveys how much the soldiers are struggling. As Christian points out, Cooper and the other actors featured in the scene are clearly seen shivering throughout the entire sequence. They are even on the beach, still freezing cold, in the middle of the night, which proves how excruciating this training would have been for them all. Therefore, from the audience’s perspective, American Sniper absolutely deserves its high accuracy rating.
Source: Insider
American Sniper is based on the true story of U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and his tour of duty in Iraq. The film explores his legendary career on the field as he battles hidden in enemy lines to protect his brothers in arms despite the growing bounty on his head and the havoc it wreaked on his personal life.
- Release Date
- December 25, 2014
- Studio(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- Writers
- Jason Hall
- Runtime
- 132minutes
- Budget
- $59 million
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures