‘American Sniper’ Kills At Box Office As Some Critics Condemn And Others Commend
American Sniper is making a killing at the American box office, even as it is polarizing critics, with some condemning and others commending it and its subject.
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that American Sniper is bringing in a lot of moviegoers.
“Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper is smashing records at the North American box office, where it is doing huge business Friday for a projected four-day debut in the $55 million-$60 million range over the long Martin Luther King weekend, if not higher.”
THR later explained how significant the American Sniper opening is.
“From Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, American Sniper is poised to score the biggest wide opening of Clint Eastwood’s career as a director. It is also expected to nab the top opening ever for the month of January.”
“Fandango reports that advance ticket sales for American Sniper jumped a historic 264 percent on Thursday.”
Meanwhile, American Sniper has polarized movie critics. Some are offering stark condemnations of both the film and its real-life protagonist, Chris Kyle. Others, however, are praising the film or defending Kyle against the condemnations.
Nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, #AmericanSniper is #nowplaying everywhere. https://t.co/wIcpbMeqCc
— American Sniper (@AmericanSniper) January 16, 2015
Lindy West, writing at the Guardian, is not a fan of American Sniper or Kyle.
“How much, if at all, should Eastwood concern himself with fans who misunderstand and misuse his work? If he, intentionally or not, makes a hero out of Kyle – who, bare minimum, was a racist who took pleasure in dehumanising and killing brown people – is he responsible for validating racism, murder, and dehumanisation? Is he a propagandist if people use his work as propaganda?”
The Daily Beast cited West’s review of American Sniper and other similar condemnations in an article about the criticisms of the movie and how star Bradley Cooper is responding to them.
David French, a veteran and current Army Reservist, countered such condemnations of American Sniper and Kyle in a blog post at National Review.
“I’m sorry, but I’m beyond sick of this notion that American soldiers who killed our enemies downrange ‘dehumanized’ brown people. Here’s what they did: Risked their lives — and often gave their lives — for the ‘brown people’ who suffered most at the hands of jihadists. Who would suffer most if al-Qaeda had overrun Iraq? Who would suffer most if the Taliban re-took Afghanistan? Men and women like Chris Kyle did more in any one deployment to save and protect ‘brown people’ than Garber, West, or their friends will do in their entire ‘social justice’-obsessed lives, combined.”
In related news, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated American Sniper for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The Inquisitr previously reported on how American Sniper was receiving strong buzz prior to its release.
[Image via official American Sniper Twitter account]
