American Sniper tells the (once again) true story of Chris Kyle, who's played here by Bradley Cooper in a performance that's earned him a best actor nomination.
Eastwood's direction is strong. The scenes are tense and realistic and never fall back on the shaky cam technique that so many other action and war films have in recent years. The images are brutal, they're quick, and they're disturbing, simply because the events being displayed are ones that everyone watching has lived through.
The theme of American Sniper is the toll that war takes, the humanity that is lost. It's a story worth telling, and thanks to Eastwood and Cooper, it's also one worth watching.