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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2015)
i OPINION The Battalion I 1.20.15 'AMERICAN SNIPER: FILM VS. BOOK The legend that is 'American Sniper' Cooper delivers intensely emotional performance Straight from the pages Book and movie versions have some major differences w Jack Riewe Life and arts writer hen you enter a movie theater to see a war movie, especially one that is talked about as much as “American Sniper” has been, you expect it to be intense until the end, realistic as if from the battlezone and, in a word, awesome. “American Sniper” had all these qualities as Bradley Cooper transformed on screen into burly Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. The biographical drama takes place in early 2000s Iraq, fresh after 9/11, and follows Chris Kyle’s entrance into the military after he is inspired by news coverage of the war in the Middle East. Bradley Cooper has been on the rise in the film industry since his performances in the Hangover trilogy, and has become quite excel lent at selecting movies where he invests his time and effort. In “American Sniper” he isn’t surrounded by a superstar cast, such as “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook.” He proved he can take a movie and own it without being just a supporting actor. Actors like Mark Wahlberg thrive in these movies, but Cooper shows his versatility, play ing a character far different from that, in “Limit less” or “The Words.” The movie starts with Cooper’s character, Chris Kyle, taking his first sniper shot on an insurgent woman before taking the audience on a flashback into his decision and. process to become a SEAL — a pretty cliche technique, especially since it’s directed by Clint Eastwood, who is a movie veteran and adds his own gray filter that he likes to use in his movies. Another platitude is how much the film emphasized Kyle’s Texas origins through Cooper’s charac ter. Kyle’s cowboy persona is played up with a thick accent and bears a stereotypical overdone southern demeanor. However, after reading a little about who Kyle actually was, it was justi fied since he was an actual horse-riding native T exan. Throughout the movie Kyle becomes a liv ing legend, recording an overwhelming number of kills and protecting his fellow comrades at any cost. But even though they portray Kyle as the best sniper in American history, he doesn’t actually snipe as much as you expect him to. The film instead shows him clearing buildings to get more action and creates another plotline. This steers away from the sniper theme and brings up questions of what the movie is really about. Don’t expect a movie solely about a sniper and his gun. The character development is well done as the production team shows the metamorphosis of a fun-loving cowboy to a war-torn veteran when Cooper is forced to come back to domestic life. This creates some of the main conflict in the movie and puts the audi ence on edge, sometimes more than when in a batdezone, because Cooper effectively depicts a soldier ready to act on his post- traumatic stress disorder-induced flashbacks. “American Sniper” isn’t only about Kyle’s journey through his four tours in Iraq but about the effect war has on soldiers. This prompts audience members to sympa thize with Kyle and adds another layer to the movie. “American Sniper” lives up to the hype and so far looks to come up big in the Oscar race, elevat ing Bradley Cooper to higher prestige in the acting world. Jack Riewe is an Eng lish junior and a life and arts writer for The Battalion. W Lindsey Gawllk @LindseyGawlik hen I saw the trailer for the ‘American Sniper” movie and heard there was also a book, I knew it was one I wanted to read. True stories are by far the most interest ing, and this one looked particularly fascinat ing: a tale about an American, Texas- born hero. So I went straight to my Kindle and downloaded it. The book starts slowly and Chris Kyle doesn’t seem a natural- -oH *i U1H: born writer, which shows in the book. However the book picks up pace as it hones in on him finding purpose in life once he drops out of college to become a Navy SEAL. Some major differences in the book versus the film is that Kyle hardly, if ever, talks about his post-traumatic stress disorder or his fear in the book. All emotional areas, even scenes that de scribe his PTSD, are usually told through italicized paragraphs his wife wrote. Another big difference is Kyle wasn’t originally trained to be only a sniper. He mentions in the book he becomes a full time sniper in the field on his first tour once his commanding officer saw how skilled he was. At times in the book, Kyle seems to be almost hateful toward all Muslims, a characteristic obviously resulting from his time at war. This was a little un comfortable to me for that reason, and I sometimes found myself getting confused that he condemned all Muslims, going as far as calling them “savages.” Kyle is undeniably a die-hard Ameri can patriot, and his PTSD is played up a lot in die movie compared to the book. Kyle always says in the book how excited he was to go on another tour, another tour, another tour. He wanted to be in the field because he felt —- perhaps rightfully so, with his kill record — he could protect his country men better than anyone else. Although the book is sporadic and unorganized at times, it is captivating for its action-packed scenes. I did find my self occasionally having to look up the definition of certain military terms, but overall the book is a fascinating window into the mind, pride and purpose of an American Navy SEAL. I’d only say I liked it and not loved it, because although it was enjoyable it was just a little too unorganized for my taste. Lindsey Gawlik is a telecommunication and media studies junior and news editor for The Battalion. ' V RECSPORTS EE In Recreation I Intramural Sports I Group RecXercise Sport Clubs I BootCamp I Bikini FitCamp Aquatics I Outdoor Adventures I Indoor Climbing Specialty Classes I Personal Training I CPR Classes Banquet Services I Massage Therapy All available to YOU at one of the BEST Student Recreation Centers in the nation! YOUR Student Recreation Center is currently undergoing a $54 MILLION EXPANSION & RENOVATION so that we can accommodate the needs of the growing Texas A&M student body! The best part is that the project is being funded without raising the Rec Sports fee! To find out about the improvements that will be made and for updates on the project, please visit www.recsports4u.com. THE REC CENTER IS OPEN DURING CONSTRUCTION! Visit recsports.tamu.edu for facility hours! k ; II ^ ' g s N ^ ' x ' \ " £$• ■ , 1 ■ % *** ^ I ' : W ^ ..." ^ =*■ ^ V 4 > ... 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