Bill Maher slammed the Oscar-nominated "American Sniper" on his HBO show over the weekend, describing protagonist Navy SEAL Chris Kyle as a "psychopath patriot."
Maher believes the controversial movie has been a runaway success at the box office because movie-goers are lapping up its "psychopath" hero, Slate reported. The film stars Bradley Cooper as slain ex-Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, who has been credited with being the U.S. military's most lethal sniper.
"'Hurt Locker' made $17 million because it was a little ambiguous, and thoughtful. And this one is just 'American hero: he's a psychopath patriot and we love him,'" the talk show host told the guest panel on his HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher" on Friday.
Agreeing with the host, Former Vermont Governor and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean said, "There's a lot of anger in this country, and the people who go see this movie are very angry...I bet you if you looked at a cross section of the Tea Party and people who go to see this movie there's a lot of intersection."
Maher also made reference to Kyle's autobiography, which he wrote before getting killed in Febuary of 2013, UK MailOnline reported.
"I read some of the quotes from the real Chris Kyle," Maher explained. "He said, 'I hate the damn savages' - talking about the Iraqis - 'and I've been fighting and I always will. I love killing bad guys. Even with the pain I loved what I was doing.'"
Describing the Iraqis as "savages" was wrong, according to Maher.
The comments made by Maher and Dean were criticized by Bret Stephens of The Wall Street Journal, who was sitting on the guest panel.
"What I saw was a movie that treats what veterans and soldiers go through in a way that was subtle," Stephens said. "It was not just about war, it was about PTSD, it was about what the wives of soldiers go through. And, by the way, the 'savages' he's talking about aren't ordinary Iraqis. The savages are Al Qaeda killers who put drills into children."
Meanwhile, "American Sniper" is on its way to passing 2004's "The Passion of the Christ" as the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever.
