Clint Eastwood's Controversial, Record-Breaking War Movie Is A Must-Watch On Paramount+

Clint Eastwood's filmography is so impressive that every time a movie he directed drops on a streaming platform, watching it is a no-brainer, even if you've seen it before. If you're a Paramount+ subscriber, such a time has now arrived, and the newest Eastwood movie on the platform just so happens to be one of his most talked-about directorial works. 

"American Sniper" is a war drama biopic about real-life Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), whose intense life is a mixture of home front turmoil and military success. The 2014 film was a massive success on most fronts. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture and best actor for Cooper. It was also a massive financial success, making over $547 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $58.8 million, smashing box office records during its early run. While by no means an uncontested critical darling, the reviews were good enough to warrant a 71% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

All of this makes "American Sniper" a must-watch on streaming, no doubt about it. However, it should be noted that the film has been subjected to a fair amount of criticism over the morality and accuracy of its content. It made Looper's list of Oscar-winning movies that were based on total lies for a reason: Eastwood changed several key details from Kyle's book (also titled "American Sniper") to create intimidating villains for the sniper to fight against, while also altering Kyle's own accomplishments. 

With its 24 award wins across the board, "American Sniper" certainly has plenty of silverware on its mantelpiece, and its financial success can't be denied. Even so, truthfulness is something of a problem for the movie. Looper's examination on how accurate "American Sniper" is found a bunch of discrepancies between the film and Kyle's book. The movie's tendency to glorify and embellish Kyle's deeds has been called into question by several media and military outlets over the years. Fans have even nitpicked about the distracting fake baby the movie uses in a scene that probably shouldn't have been filmed.

Of course, "American Sniper" makes no bones about its nature. It openly admits to being both a war drama and a biopic, which is a combination that suggests a fair amount of glorification of the military and exaggeration of real-life events even before you press play. As such, viewers who find that combination alluring will quite likely enjoy the movie. It may not be among the best war movies ever made, but it's tense, well-acted, and required viewing for fans of Clint Eastwood films. If that's you and you have access to Paramount+, make sure to check it out.