Clint Eastwood spoke about "American Sniper" and its anti-war statement during the Producers Guild Award Nominees Breakfast hosted by The Hollywood Reporter at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills on Saturday.

"The biggest antiwar statement any film" can make is to show "the fact of what [war] does to the family and the people who have to go back into civilian life like Chris Kyle did," Eastwood told The Hollywood Reporter.

The Warner Bros. film has sparked a heated debate since its release on Jan. 16 about its portrayal of the Iraq War and Chris Kyle, the "most lethal" sniper in U.S. history.

"American Sniper" depicts the life of Kyle, a Navy SEAL who served four terms in the Iraq War. The film has received much criticism for its portrayal of Kyle as a hero. Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi wrote that the movie was "almost too dumb to criticize," citing the moral issue of creating a story about "a killing machine with a heart of gold."

David Edelstein of New York Magazine describes the film as "a Republican platform movie" even as he hails it as "a crackerjack piece of filmmaking."

"Pardon me for sounding defensive, but it certainly has nothing to do with any [political] parties or anything," 84-year-old Eastwood told the Star. "These fellows who are professional soldiers, Navy personnel or what have you, go in for a certain reason. Their commander-in-chief [President Barack Obama] is a Democrat and the administration is, and there's no political aspect there other than the fact that a lot of things happen in war zones."

While critics jeer, moviegoers have made the flick a box office hit.

The Wall Street Journal reports that "American Sniper" has grossed more than $200 million since its December release. It is also a nominee for Best Picture at the 2015 Academy Awards.