--- title: "American Sniper: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/american-sniper/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/american-sniper" critics_score: 64 critics_reviews: 23 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # American Sniper (2014): what the critics said Critics' score 64 from 23 reviews: 15 positive, 3 mixed, 5 negative. Most critics come down in favour, though without much heat. The praise clusters on Bradley Cooper’s performance, which even the harshest reviewers single out, and on Eastwood’s handling of the sniper sequences, which several find as tense as anything in The Hurt Locker. A good number read the film as a study of what killing does to a committed soldier rather than a straightforward salute, and credit it with an undertow of sadness. The spread is wide, from raves to outright dismissals. The reservations gather around politics and the home front: Iraqis reduced to shadows, the war’s context left unexamined, repetitive domestic scenes and a rushed ending. The Guardian calls it an incurious salute that prints the legend, Collider finds it hollow and passionless, and Den of Geek judges it Eastwood’s worst. Even some who admire it, Little White Lies among them, call it ideologically muddled. Cooper is the one point on which nearly everyone agrees. ## Empire — Ian Nathan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 4 June 2014. Festival review. Eastwood's film is a muscular, thrilling Iraq war story that honours heroism while ruminating on its costs to the man. Cooper gives a complex, nomination-worthy performance as the conflicted sniper. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/american-sniper-review/) ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 4/5. Eastwood's matter-of-fact biopic centers on Cooper's confident performance as the lethal sniper, delivering heart-stopping suspense and insights into the psychological effects of warfare. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-g6cb6s/american-sniper/) ## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf Rating 4/5. 23 December 2014. Eastwood delivers a superbly subtle critique of the Iraq War veteran experience, saluting soldiers while highlighting personal tragedy and family dysfunction at home; Cooper is at his best. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/american-sniper) ## Film Comment Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). The review praises Eastwood's efficient direction and complex action set pieces, noting Cooper's strong portrayal of Kyle as a modest protector; it highlights the film's respectful yet probing take on war's moral costs while acknowledging production constraints and public debate around the subject. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-american-sniper-clint-eastwood/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2014. The film goes beyond standard war-hero biopics by examining the soul-destroying consequences of violence on even a committed patriot like Kyle. Eastwood crafts impeccable action sequences that immerse viewers in combat's relentlessness. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-american-sniper-review-20141225-column.html) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 December 2014. Eastwood explores the myth of the hero through Kyle as a man relentlessly alone and unfulfilled, gripping viewers with hypnotic silence and visceral battle scenes tied to the character's tormented psyche. The film balances art and action while highlighting the alienating sadness of heroism. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/american-sniper/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 November 2014. Festival review. Eastwood's film is a taut, vivid and sad account that feels like a companion to The Hurt Locker, infusing a patriotic story with underlying pain and melancholy. Cooper delivers a physically transformed and dramatically assured performance as Kyle. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/american-sniper-afi-fest-review-748460/) ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 18 December 2014. Eastwood’s film is both a devastating pro-war and antiwar movie, celebrating a warrior’s happiness while lamenting his alienation. It focuses on Kyle as a righteous assassin sure of his mission, with precise, purposeful action sequences. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/american-sniper-2) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2014. The film is a blunt, effective western-like tale of vengeance and justice that reaffirms Eastwood's themes, though it is also troubling. It derives power from the clarity and sincerity of its convictions about violence as a moral necessity. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/movies/american-sniper-a-clint-eastwood-film-starring-bradley-cooper.html) ## Total Film — Neil Smith Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 12 January 2015. Eastwood handles the tense, dramatic life of the sniper sensitively and respectfully, with Cooper delivering a subtle performance. The combat scenes grip like The Hurt Locker, though home scenes are repetitive. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/american-sniper-review/) ## Variety — Scott Foundas Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 January 2015. The film explores the powerful moral complexity of Eastwood’s work, presenting shades of gray rather than clear good versus evil. It demythologizes the American experience through Kyle’s story while allowing for varied audience reactions to its violence. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2015/film/columns/clint-eastwoods-walking-wounded-from-dirty-harry-to-american-sniper-1201392603/) ## Little White Lies — Keith Uhlich Rating 3/3/3. 15 January 2015. The film is grippingly made yet ideologically muddled, with Eastwood at his best detailing skirmishes but less sure on the homefront and the abrupt finale. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/american-sniper) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 12 November 2014. Festival review. The war drama lacks the moral complexity of Eastwood's earlier films but is affecting and riveting thanks to Cooper's subtle performance, though it simplifies Iraqi characters. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/american-sniper/5079898.article) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 21 November 2014. Festival review. The critic describes the film as a gripping but incurious salute to US military muscle in Iraq that decides to print the legend rather than interrogate the facts. It singles out the first-person shooter aesthetic and tunnel vision that reduces the Iraqis to shadowy savages while leaving the war's wider context unexplored. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/nov/21/clint-eastwood-heartfelt-tribute-us-muscle-iraq) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2015. Eastwood delivers crackling filmmaking but regresses morally, turning the story into a blinkered propaganda film and Republican platform movie that portrays the Iraq occupation simplistically through a rifle sight. Cooper is impressive as the grimly self-contained Kyle. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2014/12/movie-review-american-sniper.html) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 11 November 2014. Festival review. The film is Eastwood's finest and most impressive since Million Dollar Baby, a brilliant study of a warrior both on the battlefield and at home that gives equal weight to the toll on family life and psychological scars. It earns its stripes in a somber, non-flashy way and hits the bull's-eye for awards contention. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2014/11/american-sniper-afi-fest-premiere-clint-eastwood-bradley-cooper-oscars-1201281801/) ## HeyUGuys — Adam Lowes Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 14 January 2015. Eastwood returns to strong form with economical storytelling that largely keeps jingoism in check, crafting an absorbing character study of a traumatized soldier. Cooper and Miller excel in understated performances, with gripping sniper sequences highlighting the uncertainties of conflict. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/american-sniper-review/) ## /Film — Germain Lussier Rating 7/10. 16 January 2015. The film is an ambitious but uneven effort that falls short of fully cohering its many parts despite strong individual moments and scenes. Cooper delivers one of his best performances in a worthy tribute to Kyle, though it remains only an above-average Eastwood work. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/534843/american-sniper-review/) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating B-. 16 January 2015. Eastwood crafts gripping sniper sequences and a convincing portrait of Kyle through Cooper's intense performance, returning to tense, restrained filmmaking. Misguided elements like a clichéd antagonist and underwritten home scenes prevent it from fully succeeding. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-clint-eastwoods-american-sniper-starring-bradley-cooper-sienna-miller-20150116/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 15 January 2015. The film is gripping as Hollywood fiction but problematic for its factual origins, presenting Kyle sympathetically with little scrutiny of his actions or the wider context. It reduces PTSD to simplistic terms and frames the story as a new Wild West fable against faceless enemies. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/american-sniper-2014-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## Den of Geek — Mark Harrison Rating 2/5. 20 January 2015. The critic calls it the worst Eastwood film, faulting its jingoistic one-sidedness, inert pacing, faceless enemies and rushed epilogue that fails to develop Kyle as a character. Cooper's committed lead performance is singled out as a bright spot amid the problems. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/american-sniper-review-2/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating D-. 24 December 2014. The critic finds the film hollow and thoughtless, lacking nuance, pathos, or insight compared to The Hurt Locker, and criticizes Eastwood's direction as passionless and amoral while it avoids exploring the moral costs of Kyle's actions. Bradley Cooper's committed performance is the only real strength singled out. [Read the review](https://collider.com/american-sniper-review/) ## The Wrap — Inkoo Kang Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 11 November 2014. Festival review. The film is an uncomplicated portrait of a man denied complexity and depth, with Eastwood's tight focus leaving other characters underdeveloped and moral issues around the war engaged only superficially. The repetitive action plays like a video game, though a sandstorm sequence stands out as visually arresting. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/american-sniper-review-bradley-cooper-clint-eastwood-sienna-miller/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/american-sniper.md