It’s THAT movie; the movie that finally unconsciously reveals the mistakes of the Bush Administration, yet celebrates these mistakes in the name of death. It’s the movie you’ve heard about everywhere, whether you’re driving down 83 and see a billboard, listening to the radio and hear an utterly disturbing yet suspenseful advertisement, or have seen in just about every single commercial break during the NFL Playoffs. Yes– the hype has finally come to fruition, as American Sniper was finally released to all theaters on January 16.

In American Sniper, Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle, a Texas native who makes the decision to enlist following the 1998 U.S Embassy Bombings. His first tour of duty was after 9/11, and during that duty was responsible for his first kills. As many more kills are earned, Kyle is designated the nickname “Legend” for his sniping prowess. Despite this recognition, Kyle is upset with killing others. Eventually, enemies recognize him for his knack of sniping others easily without being noticed, and becomes a target. After 4 turbulent tours of duty in Iraq, Kyle finally returns home. Yet, the battle in his mind proves to be the most onerous war he will ever face.

As you may have guessed based on the film’s gross income of $247 million in just the first weekend worldwide, American Sniper has covered ground uncharted in the box office since the release of The Dark Knight in 2008. As a result of the phenomenon surrounding the film, it earned 6 Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture and one for Best Actor (Bradley Cooper)
Yet, alike every massive aspect of media in today’s age, the film was also received with a hefty amount of criticism– for a myriad of reason. Rex Reed of The New York Observer criticized the redundancy of the film, stating that “There’s no freshness in the domestic scenes or the combat sequences.” Another critic– Inkoo Kang of TheWrap, compared the film’s high volume violence to that of “a video game.” Despite these scornful responses to American Sniper, the most intriguing criticism of them all must have came from well known liberal political activist Michael Moore.

Moore took to twitter to initiate a tirade of tweets that mocked the contemptuousness of the film as well as the glorification of the US Army. One noteworthy tweet said: “Instead of being a sniper to protect our troops, I tried to save their lives by stopping Bush from sending them to their deaths in Iraq. Social Media went wild over his disdain, as many (such as Newt Gingrich) called him “unamerican”, “hypocrite” and “communist”.

Ultimately, the film was a historic success that garnished a following across the world, as it grossed over $65 Million in international theaters as of January 30. Yet, nothing great is ever left unscathed, and those who attacked the patriotic symbolism of the film have the freedom to state whatever they desire.