A new trailer for the war drama "American Sniper," starring Bradley Cooper and directed by Clint Eastwood, is sure to get your pulse racing as the pair once again step into the pre-Oscars spotlight.
Cooper stars as U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, billed as the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. Kyle, who served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and was heavily decorated for his service, has taken credit for 160 confirmed kills — the film is based on his autobiography.
Against the sound of a beating heart, which permeates much of the 2-minute clip, Cooper is shown on a rooftop in Iraq providing cover for a convoy of Marines on the street below.
The tension in the trailer accelerates with the thumping heartbeat as Cooper's character scopes a suspicious man and then a woman and child. Images of the sniper at home interacting with his own family are interspersed, raising a host of questions: Why is his wife (Sienna Miller) crying? Does he take the shot in Iraq? How will these two worlds intersect?
Kyle, whose book was a best-seller, was shot and killed at a Texas gun range in February 2013. He was 38 years old.
"Thank God I got to talk to him once on the phone,'' Cooper said in USA Today. "It was a very quick conversation. But I did tell him how serious I was about making this movie. And he should just know that whatever fears he had about Hollywood, to just put them aside and trust me. That I was going to do everything I could to tell this story."
Cooper, who voiced Rocket Racoon in the summer blockbuster "Guardians of the Galaxy," has received past Academy Award nominations for "Silver Linings Playbook" and "American Hustle."
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