Zach from Wedding Crashers as a decorated Navy Seal? What?? Bradley Cooper was far from type cast going from absurd FBI agent Richie DiMaso in American Hustle to the legendary soldier Chris Kyle in American Sniper. The funny leader of the Hangover gang bulked up to grab this biopic and run with it straight to the Oscars!

Clint Eastwood brought this personal story to the forefront of a large scale conflict. He focused on Kyle and his chess match with enemy sniper Mustafa. As their rivalry intensified, I became sympathetic to Kyle’s desire to return for tour after tour. He had to protect his friends. In his mind, there was no decision to continue to leave his growing family as long as Mustafa was still in play.

This film was was well done because it didn’t “cover” the war. I salute American Sniper with 3.5 napkins out of 5.