Ordinarily I'm not drawn to review material with this film's theme, nor will I be discussing the much-acclaimed nuanced performance by Bradley Cooper who inhabits the role in a deeply interior and authentic way. What I'd rather tackle is the thought-provoking presentation of war itself, which is, I believe, what most people leave the movie silently chewing upon.

It seems to me that there is a deep and abiding strain of insanity in the current iteration of the human race. We crave the drama of violence and killing even though it's the very thing that causes the greatest suffering. Some shamans feel that the universe is predatory, and that as energy beings we prey on other beings in order to devour their energy, and are in turn preyed upon. In the context of war, this interaction becomes primary. Kill or be killed. Glory in it. Raise your self-esteem by your skill at doing it. Derive deep satisfaction, almost of a life-affirming quality, by making the greatest sacrifices in order to excel at it.

Now, this would go for either side in any war, and is best illustrated by the universal refrain, "God is on our side." In American Sniper, one sees patriotism, brotherhood, loyalty, family values... one sees the depth of importance that the warrior's role bestows. So good at his job is this exceptional sniper and so inwardly tasked with the obligation to use his performance skills to protect and save his buddies that he keeps returning for tours of duty despite his wife's protests and long past his required term of service. We see maimings, distressing emotional conflict, and poignant funeral rituals. We see the impact that war has not only on the warrior but on his family and his society.

To some extent in this film, we're shown a few similarities with the other side, i.e., the "bad guys" - in this case, jihadist terrorists - although the movie paints them a bit less fully realized as to their motives and behaviors than the "good guys". In some scenes, the bad guys' motives seem strictly based on abiding hatred that even overrides common sense, such as putting non-military individuals in harm's way, often of their own accord.

For a movie to provoke introspection and even reevaluation of the purposes of war and its costs is a profound, worthy, and admirable achievement. But coming from a spiritual place, what I saw primarily in this movie is the lunacy of the species. Why do we need to face off with such deep antagonism? Why does each era create the evil ones versus the pure ones (which could be said of the Nazis during WWII, and certainly be exemplified by the jihadists)? What is it in our level of consciousness that continually recreates such situations? It's obvious that, whoever was your mortal enemy, in about twenty years you'll be buying their products and trading if not intermarrying with them. So what is the deeper purpose?  Is it simply the extreme drama of contrasting life expressions? 

I don't position myself as a hawk or a dove. If people are trying to kill me, the logical thing is to either fight back or find technological solutions that protect me at the same time they either disarm or remove the threat. Our technology, although it's getting better and better, has not yet developed a perfect means for individuals to play at real war unscathed. Meantime, there will always be people, movements, groups, even governments with base motives, be they founded upon religious beliefs or world domination or even the thrill of killing.

I believe we're evolving, but a long way from the heightened and shared consciousness that would make killing each other so repellent that no one chooses to engage in this. That's a long way off. For now, collectively, our nation represents a middle path. The eagle on the Great Seal of the United States carries both the olive branches of peace and the arrows of war in its talons, and looks towards the peaceful side but remains able to stand up to attack. American Sniper, as a movie, addresses this.

The hero is motivated to protect his buddies in warfare as well as his family and the whole country by what he perceives (rightly so) to be an agenda of terror embedded in a desire for cultural annihilation, because that's what the jihadists want to do - to transform the rest of the world to their limited belief structure.

The film is recommended, in my opinion, because of superb acting, flawless direction, a good pace, and a deep thought-provoking message, but on the deepest level, I'm compelled to ask: is excelling at killing really the best that an individual can do to achieve self-esteem and pride, to fulfill a purpose for the lifetime? In the book "Power versus Force" (David Hawkins, Hay House), pride (the entire motto of the Marines) is at a lower rung on the scale than compassion. Right now we're resonating with the vibration of pride, trying to restore that and finding it in certain lives such as the sniper's. But have we begun to find heroism in a higher mission, a better value target?  I hope so.