Oh it wasn't just that. He also "allegedly" shot 30 Katrina looters from the roof of a stadium (which has been shown to never have happened) and shot and killed two carjackers (which also never happened, according to the police). Between that the fact that apparently his SEAL buddies really didn't like him that much (several have since written memoirs and the compulsive liar/self-centered asshole theme comes up a lot) we didn't even get remotely close to what seems to have been the real Chris Kyle who, while he did other things that can be construed as heroic, was a deeply flawed man. Instead we got Captain America The Invincible Sniper of Awesome, Heartwarming Family Man.Sanunes said:Jesse Ventura won his defamation lawsuit against the book (I do believe it was concluded after filming was finished), but I think the studio would have been nervous of a lawsuit against them if they did decide to portray that one aspect of the book even if the decision was against Ventura the first time.tippy2k2 said:Jeez...you know what, I didn't even think about that too but that's an excellent point. I think I was distracted at that scene because MILD SPOILER: (in real life), that is when Chris Kyle "allegedly" punches Jesse Ventura in the mouth for talking trash about the SEALS but with the ongoing court case and whatnot happening, it was probably a good call by Eastwood to let that one part of the book go...
And... eh. I can see why. Like Zhukov said, the family was heavily involved in making the film and between the whole "you don't speak ill of the dead" cultural more and potential lawsuits, it was easier to just chicken out and not include any of the controversial bits about his life. Though I, personally, think it would have made for a richer and more interesting film if they'd kept them.