'American Sniper' is quintessential Clint Eastwood.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Author: Coyle, Jake
• Date: 16 January 2015

Byline: Jake Coyle

'American Sniper'

A Warner Bros. release

Rated: PG-13 for strong and disturbing war violence, and language throughout, including some sexual references.

Running time: 2 hours, 4 minutes

A mere six months after releasing the Four Seasons drama "Jersey Boys,'' Clint Eastwood has again lapped his younger directing colleagues with his second film of 2014 and his best movie in years. "American Sniper'' is quintessentially Eastwood: a tautly made, confidently constructed examination of the themes that have long dominated his work.

"American Sniper,'' based on Navy SEAL marksman Chris Kyle's best-selling memoir, is both a tribute to the warrior and a lament for war. Shirking politics, the film instead sets its sights squarely on its elite protagonist (Bradley Cooper), a traditional American war hero in an untraditional war.

Here is an archetypal American: a...