Fans of “American Sniper” rushed to defend the controversial new movie Monday, blasting critics who called it pro-war propaganda and lauding the real-life Navy SEAL who is the basis of the story.
“Chris Kyle was a hero. Period.” wrote Twitter user Katie Pavlich.
“American Sniper depicts a real American hero with flaws and human-ness,” added another, @daggy1.
Kyle, who served in the Iraq war, was credited with being the most lethal sniper in the history of the US military, with 160 confirmed kills.
The Clint Eastwood-directed film — which pulled in $100 million last weekend — is based on Kyle’s autobiography of the same name and tracks his days in the war and his attempt to readjust to home life.
But critics have blasted Kyle — who was murdered in 2013 at a Texas gun range — and called the movie bloodthirsty and hateful of Iraqis.
Filmmaker Michael Moore went so far as to call snipers “cowards” over the weekend.
Such denigration of Kyle, however, drew a strong reaction Monday.
“March a mile in enemy territory in #ChrisKyle shoes, THEN call him a coward you wussy Liberals,” said a Twitter user named Chuck Nellis.
Another user, John Harvoy, tweeted: “#AmericanSniper is not a pro war movie but it is a Pro-American movie. It shows the sacrifice we all should make to keep USA the best.”
And Twitterer David Higgins wrote: “A sniper is one of the most isolated and vulnerable combat roles. Yet #MichaelMoore thinks #ChrisKyle was a #Coward? #Idiot.”
Faced with the backlash, Moore backtracked on his comment, which he said he made because his uncle was killed in World War II by a sniper. He said he was not specifically talking about Kyle when he make the “cowards” comment.
“Hmm. I never tweeted 1word bout AmericanSniper/ChrisKyle. I said my uncle killed by sniper in WWII; only cowards would do that 2 him, others,” the “Bowling for Columbine” director tweeted, adding that the movie had a “powerful message” and a “sad ending.”
But actor Seth Rogen piled on, tweeting, “American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that’s showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds,” referring to a Nazi propaganda piece about a German sharpshooter depicted in the Quentin Tarantino film.
Also, some members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences went online and attacked Kyle as a “sociopath.”
Some circulated a recent article by Dennis Jett of The New Republic that attacks the movie for making a hero out of Kyle, the film-news site TheWrap reported.
“The real American Sniper had no remorse about the Iraqis he killed . . . His only regret [was] that he didn’t kill more,” the piece says.
In his 2012 biography, Kyle wrote, “The enemy are savages and despicably evil,” and added his “only regret is that I didn’t kill more.”
