With his second film in just around six months arriving shortly, Clint Eastwood is seemingly as active as ever. Following Jersey Boys, we’ve now got a new look at his war drama American Sniper, which follows Cooper as Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL who performed more sniper assassinations than any American before a tragedy occurred. This new preview features a barrage of quotes, but also provides a first look at the sections featuring Cooper’s character back at home and dealing with the aftermath of war.
We said in our review, “From the outset, the depiction of Kyle’s personal life takes on a hurried feel, a problem one hoped would subside after an early montage of childhood moments that unfolds like a greatest hits of important lessons. Kyle is shown hunting as a child, taking on a playground bully, and intensely absorbing a dinner-table speech by his father that might as well have ended with the patriarch stating “this will define your entire life.” Moments like these are indicative of a larger issue in American Sniper: an constant unevenness when it comes to balancing the personal with the “professional.”
Set for a Christmas Day limited release and a wide expansion on January 16th, check out the new trailer, clip, 30-minute interview with Cooper, and behind-the-scenes footage below for the film also starring Sienna Miller, Jake McDorman, Kyle Gallner, Luke Grimes, and more.
American Sniper opens on December 25th.