American Sniper

They call him the Legend.

You wouldn't necessarily know it by looking at him. He's not eight feet tall or covered in jangling medals—just a burly ol' cowboy with a baseball cap and Texas drawl. But put him behind a sniper rifle, and Chris Kyle is war-torn Iraq's own avenging angel—a hand of judgment laid heavy on the enemy. With a perch on a rooftop and a finger on a trigger, he wields the power of life and death. A man runs into the street with a grenade, threatening the American troops below? Crack. Thoomp. A small spray of blood and one life is gone while others are saved.

It's harsh work, but no one does it better. The real-life Chris Kyle racked up more than 160 confirmed kills and probably hundreds more. He was so lethal that insurgents slapped an $80,000 bounty on his head and dubbed him the Devil of Ramadi. Not that Chris was phased by their threats: He signed up for four tours of duty and seemed, at times, invulnerable. He thrived in those Iraqi deserts, at home in the heat.

But in this movie from Clint Eastwood, it was home that felt dangerous to Chris. It was home that was dangerous.

GENRE

Drama, War

CAST

Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle; Sienna Miller as Taya Renae Kyle; Brian Hallisay as Captain Gillespie; Luke Grimes as Marc Lee; Jake McDorman as Ryan Job; Max Charles as Colton Kyle; Kyle Gallner as Winston; Keir O'Donnell as Jeff Kyle

DIRECTOR

Clint Eastwood (Jersey Boys, J. Edgar, Hereafter, Invictus, Gran Torino, Changeling, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River)

DISTRIBUTOR

Warner Bros.

IN THEATERS

December 25, 2014