Much debate has opened up on Clint Eastwood’s most recent blockbuster hit, American Sniper, a military drama starring Bradley Cooper as Navy Seal and Iraqi war sharpshooter, Chris Kyle.

Kyle has been credited with 160 confirmed kills and awarded many of the highest military medals such as the bronze and silver star.

After serving four tours in Iraq, Kyle returned home to his family and struggled slightly with adjusting back to civilian life. However, once recovered, he began to help other military veterans.

Many would say that he was a true American war hero. However, others argue that he was a murderer who killed innocent women and children that supposedly did not support Osama Bin laden.

In 2012, the movie Zero Dark Thirty became a huge hit, although some politicians took it as an endorsement for torture.

Ann Hornaday, from The Washington Post, writes, “The same kind of controversy has been brewing around ‘American Sniper,’ with some viewers seeing it as a blinkered glorification of an unjust war and others admiring how Eastwood and screenwriter Jason Hall portray the psychic toll the Iraq conflict took on Kyle.”

All war movies are bound to spark some kind of debate. People view war scenarios as acts of heroism or as acts of cowardice.

American Sniper has been the number one movie at the box office for several weeks now, and a majority of RV students either want to see it or have already seen it.

Last week during Make-A-Wish week, RV had a volleyball tournament and one of the teams dressed in camouflage shirts and called themselves American Snipers.

Riley Knipp, a sophomore on the team, commented saying, “I loved the movie and thought that it embodied true American spirit.”

The movie was very well done and Bradley Cooper delivered an amazing performance that most certainly is ‘Oscar worthy.’

Eastwood adds a bit of solemnity as the end credits of the movie roll without sound, assuring that audiences exit the theater in silence paying tribute to the memory of Chris Kyle.

He was a military man who deserved a moment of respect.