American Sniper (2014)

American Sniper parents guide

It stays inside its R, with some innuendo or implied sex and brutal violence.

Scare

Mildly scary

A few tense or eerie moments.

Jump scares

A couple

One or two sudden jolts.

Gore

Graphic gore

Blood and wounds shown clearly.

Violence

Brutal violence

Our top level for violence.

Sex and nudity

Mild

Mild means innuendo, or sex implied off screen, with no nudity.

Language

Strong

Frequent strong profanity or slurs.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is American Sniper scary?

Only a little. American Sniper has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.

How gory is American Sniper?

Graphic gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.

What is American Sniper rated, and is it OK for kids?

Rated R, and it earns it: brutal violence, frequent strong language and graphic gore. Not one for kids.

What is American Sniper about?

U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle takes his sole mission—protect his comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. Despite grave danger and his struggle to be a good husband and father to his family back in the States, Kyle serves four tours of duty in Iraq. However, when he finally returns home, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind.

Cast and crew

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American Sniper is on our True stories, Best Picture nominees, Action on Netflix and War lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “a movie that will make me cry”
• “funny but not stupid, under two hours”
• “a fun halloween movie, not too scary”

Lists with the same feel: Most violent.