Even after cranking out last summer’s two-and-a-half hour Jersey Boys, he’s still got time for seconds. American Sniper is Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial work among a long-standing track record of 37 flicks over the last four decades, along with an acting career dating as early as the 50s. Though this felt like a last-minute entry for awards season and a slight exercise in patriotism and conservatism from Eastwood, there is still much to ponder here, considering Eastwood’s talent in versatile filmmaking in flicks like Million Dollar Baby and Letters from Iwo Jima. The film mainly functions as a study of one of the world’s most deadly riflemen and his ability to cope with the imminent perils of war while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and relationship with his increasingly distraught family back home.

Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), who is touted as the most lethal sniper in U.S. History, is the focal point of the story. While viewing American Sniper, I found the essence of both anti-war and pro-war allegories, similar to The Hurt Locker. As crowded as it may seem by Eastwood’s message about the defense and pride in one’s country in relation to the defense of those you hold closest, you should still get a clear impression of which side Kyle was ultimately leaning towards. That being said, the relationship between Chris Kyle and his wife, played by Sienna Miller, is depicted artificially at times in the most vital scenes, with some hammy dialogue that ruins the moments of significant sentiment. In swapping for further elaboration on the factor of Chris’s home life, the combat tours are instead expanded upon in the usual way we’d see a war film: a cinematic routine where there is rarely enough to compensate for any individual’s suffering in the elements of war besides a victory that is so distant.

The weight of the story more often than not rests solely on the power of Bradley Cooper’s portrayal as Kyle in the more shocking and emotionally straining instances of his life. Having bulked up for the role of the Navy SEAL to express the physical strength of the sniper, Cooper also manages to expertly capture the humanity and confliction that Kyle faces during his four tours in Iraq.

While I don’t think American Sniper is one of the best films of the year, there is definitely much to e discussed about Eastwood’s latest picture. For that I give it a 7.7/10.