History Film / AmericanSniper

* CoolGuns: Being an autobiographical war film dedicated to the deadliest sniper of the 21th century, you can imagine there's quite a few of these.
** First we have Kyle's signature Mcmillan TAC-338A rifle, outfitted with a Leupold Mark 4.
** During Kyle's first tour in Iraq, he uses a SOCOM [=MK13=], chambered with 300 Winchester Magnum rounds. It's tricked out with a [[GunAccessories Nightforce NXS scope, harris bipod, MIRS night vision rail, Knight's Armament M110 supressor.]]
** A US Delta Force Sniper can be seen using a [=M24A1=] Sniper Rifle.
** A [[SemperFi Marine]] [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous Recon Scout Sniper]] that accompanies Kyle on a mission in Iraq uses a [=M40A3=] Sniper Rifle while taking out insurgents in Sadr City.
** The Mk 12 Mod 1 Special Purpose Rifle shows up in the hands of some [=SEAL=]s throughout the movie.
** Kyle's arch nemesis Mustafa, uses a SVD Dragunov as his rifle of choice.
** As a young boy, Kyle and his dad used Remington 700's while out hunting.
** The Marines in Fallujah all carry standard issue [=M16A4=]'s.
** Kyle and many of his fellow [=SEAL=]s use tan-painted Mk 18 Mod 0 CQB carbines.
** The [=M4A1=] shows up plenty of times, mostly in the hands of Army troops, Private Military Contractors, etc.
** The Mk 48 Mod 0 is used by Kyle's fellow Navy [=SEAL=]s "Biggles", and Marc Lee.
** At least one Marine can be seen using a [=M249=] SAW.
** Chris Kyle carries a Single Action Army during the "drop them drawers" scene.

* GunPorn: It's a war film, so it's almost a given that this trope is in play. One such example comes up when Chris and his squad is inside a man's house and they find [[http://www.imfdb.org/images/9/9f/Americansniper-tabuk-1.jpg this stash]].

* DiabolusExMachina: Kyle returns safely from Irak, adapts to civilian life and finally becomes a family man. [[spoiler:He's then murdered, offscreen, by a deranged veteran he was trying to help and briefly introduced in the final scenes.]]

** Marc Lee in the film he appears during Kyle's first tour in Iraq, but he wasn't part of Kyle's team until his third tour according to the book.

** [[spoiler: Later on, Kyle nails an enemy hoisting an RPG launcher. A boy next to him nearly finishes the job and Kyle nearly shoots him. The scene lasts longer than a minute for dramatic effect. But the child reconsiders and flees. Kyle's relieved. Just cause he ''could'' doesn't mean he ''"wanted too"''.]]

* EvilCounterpart: Mustafa, the highly-skilled [[spoiler:Syrian]] al-Qaeda sniper who is present at the scene of a number of Kyle's missions, [[spoiler:kills one of Kyle's closest friends]], and is specifically tasked with killing Kyle himself. He also seems to oppose Kyle in every way save his skill as a sniper; while Kyle will sit and wait for hours while on watch, Mustafa will instead tend to set up very rapidly, kill some American soldiers in succession and leave as quickly as he came.

* FootsieUnderTheTable: Taya tries to do this to Kyle, but has difficultry trying to reach him with her pregnant belly and the large table.

* HonorBeforeReason: Despite orders not to shoot, Kyle [[spoiler:snipes Mustafa, avenging his friends]], which alerts the insurgent forces in the area to their position and nearly gets them all killed in the ensuing firefight before an extraction team arrives.

->''There are three types of people in this world: sheep, wolves and sheepdogs.''

* DeathSeeker: Taya thinks Kyle is becoming this from his frequent deployment to Iraq. [[AvertedTrope Chris assures her he isn't]].

* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: Averted. Mustafa hits Kyle in the head and knocks him down but Kyle's helmet saves his life.

* InterserviceRivalry: Very notably averted. Both Kyle and his fellow [=SEALs=] work side by side with the Marine's on a regular basis and there is never the slightest hint of animosity between the two branches. In fact, the Marine's are glad to have Kyle and his boys watching there back.

* PrettyLittleHeadshots: Always averted; headshots are realistically messy.

* ShootTheDog:
** The trailer shows two scenes where Kyle is faced with this prospect, as children take up [=RPGs=] and grenades against US troops.
** Averted literally when Kyle's PTSD nearly drives him [[spoiler:to kill a dog playing with a small boy]] during a neighbor's cookout.

** Kyle is frequently shown in the film as being uncomfortable with his status as a hero and being quite humble about his accomplishments. The real-life Kyle was described by those who knew him as a braggart, who also had a reputation for making up absurd stories about himself. He exaggerated his already impressive military record and medal count, claimed to have killed some men who tried to steal his car, and also claimed he killed looters during Hurricane Katrina. A few months before his death he was sued by politician Jesse Ventura for one such lie,[[note]]Chris wrote a chapter in the book about punching out a man he later identified as Ventura, who was insulting a dead veteran at his wake. Jesse himself was a SEAL and also was good friends with the barman and unlikely to cause such a ruckus in his bar.[[/note]] which he and his estate adamantly defended through multiple appeals until 2017, despite being found untrue at every stage and Jesse clearly just wanting a retraction.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The film was criticized by some for depicting Kyle's Iraqi enemies as bloodthirsty savages, even though that depiction of the Sunni insurgency is pretty much entirely accurate. These ''are'' the same guys who soon coalesced under ISIS, after all.

* AgeLift: Kyle, stated to be 30 prior to 9/11/2001, is aged about five years.

* AdultFear: [[spoiler:The death of the informant's son.]]

* FlameBait: Whether the movie is pro- or anti-war has been the source of much debate, as is whether or not the movie makes the right choice in simply portraying Kyle without any judgment.

-->'''Marine:''' Man, they got this one sniper that's been hitting headshots from 500 yards (457.2 m) out. They call him "Mustafa", he's in the Olympics.\\

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Kyle's skills as a sniper, but the crowning moment is when he targets [[spoiler: Mustafa]], who is about 2100 yards (1920.24 m) away (about 1.3 miles (2.09 km)!) and nails him.

* BadassBeard: Kyle grows a beard after he goes to war. Once he's back in civilian life for good, he cuts it down to a doorknocker-style goatee. In reality, however, from the photos in his book, he doesn't have such a thick beard during his deployment and it only appears after he retires from the Navy.

** In the film, Kyle says that [[spoiler:Marc's]] last letter, where he started questioning the war led to his death. In the book, Kyle calls it "an incredible letter" which - while describing bad things - is also " full of hope and encouraging all of us to do some small part for others."

* AmericaSavesTheDay: The film only shows Kyle's tours with his American buddies whereas the time he spent with the Polish GROM forces in the book is omitted.

** In a case where Kyle is accused of shooting an innocent civilian, he is seen being briefed by a Marine Captain, whereas in the book he was assigned and briefed by the US Army. The whole scene is also toned down to a simple pep talk than the actual three days stand down.

** Local Iraqis live in fear of "The Butcher", an al-Qaeda enforcer known to torture and and kill people with a power drill.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:After surviving four tours in Iraq, Kyle is killed by a veteran he was trying to help. That's how it really happened, but the film doesn't even depict his death, only informs the viewer with a subtitle.]]

* AnalogyBackfire: Wayne Kyle’s ‘Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs’ speech. He says that sheepdogs are blessed with an overpowering need to protect the flock of sheep from wolves. He completely overlooks the fact that sheepdogs are meant to herd sheep to be slaughtered.

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Kyle comes home from war only to be killed by a disturbed veteran at the end.]]
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The film downplays some of the more controversial political opinions and attitudes about killing that Kyle expressed in his book, although it still shows him as a hero with flaws.
** Kyle is frequently shown in the film as being uncomfortable with his status as a hero and being quite humble about his accomplishments. The real life Kyle was described by those who knew him as a braggart who also had a reputation for making up absurd stories about himself to seem such as claiming to have killed men who tried to steal his car, killed looters during Hurricane Katrina and even lied about his already impressive military record and how many medals he earned. A few months before his death he was sued by politician Jesse Ventura for one such lie,[[note]]Chris wrote a chapter in the book about punching out a man he later identified as Ventura who was insulting a dead veteran at his wake. Jesse himself was a SEAL and also was good friends with the barman and unlikely to cause such a ruckus in his bar.[[/note]] which he and his estate adamantly defended through multiple appeals until 2017 despite being found untrue at every stage and Jesse clearly just wanting a retraction.

* NoSympathy: It's painfully obvious that Kyle is suffering from PTSD, yet his wife doesn't seem to notice this, or care, or is ignoring it completely, thinking he's choosing to be aloof and distant. Any expert will tell you, this is '''not''' how you treat someone with PTSD.
* PetTheDog: Kyle and the others are invited to dinner with an Iraqi family. Subverted in that he later realizes that the patriarch is an insurgent.

* NotSoDifferent: Mustafa to Kyle. Both are expert marksman, both serve for a cause (U.S. for Kyle, al-Qaeda for Mustafa), both are actively hunting each other and, as a scene shows, both have a wife and child back at home.