Review of Eye in the Sky (2007) by Patrick L — 17 Aug 2016

"Timely, political and amazingly relevant, "Eye in the Sky" is a powerful movie about modern day drone warfare.".

DVD Movie Review: Eye in the Sky.

Date Viewed: June 28 2016.

Directed By Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Rendition, Ender's Game and X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

Written By Guy Hibbert.

Starring: Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, Aaron Paul, Barkhad Abdi, Jeremy Northam, Iain Glen, Phoebe Fox, Armaan Haggio, Monica Dolan, Aisha Takow, Richard McCabe, Michael O'Keefe and Carl Beukes.

Timely and political, "Eye in the Sky" is a compelling war drama with fine performances from Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and the late Alan Rickman. It is amazingly relevant to America's current drone warfare against major terrorist organizations. Director Gavin Hood's film also deals with the consequences if a drone strike goes terribly wrong resulting in the deaths of innocent lives. In the vein of Sidney Lumet in his earlier prime, Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Rendition, Ender's Game and X-Men Origins: Wolverine) also tackles with the political implications of drone strikes and the question of what to do if innocent civilians are caught in the crosshairs, should the drone pilot wait until all civilians are clear or strike at the target anyway at the cost of innocent lives.

Mirren stars as Katherine Powell, a British military officer who commands a mission to capture or kill high-level Al-Shabaab extremists in Kenya. The terrorists meet in Nairobi where they plan suicide bombings on civilian targets. An international team works together to bring down the terrorists and they are provided with video images from a Reaper drone controlled by a Nevada Air Force Base. With the help from USAF pilot Steve Watts (Paul) and undercover Kenyan field agent, Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi, from "Captain Phillips") on the ground, Powell and her military superiors led by Lt. General Frank Benson (Rickman) are ready to go but Watts discovers a 9-year-old girl living near the compound where the terrorists are planning their attacks.

With Watts choosing not to strike at the targets, Powell and her fellow military leaders are at odds with each other about how the mission should be handled. Most of Powell's superiors say strike at the target but Watts becomes cautious at the mission because if innocent civilians get killed in the strike, it could generate negative press for the British government.

Mirren gives a fiercely terrific performance as a military officer who has to make a difficult decision for the expense of national security around the world. Aaron Paul is equally compelling as the drone pilot who is stuck on the sidelines and Alan Rickman in one of his final roles reminds us what a talented actor he was. The action is well-paced and the screenplay by Guy Hibbert is sharp and provocative.

It seems impossible for Rickman to receive a posthumous Oscar nomination for his brillant work here but who cares! The Academy is now just as rigged as this whole goddamn U.S. election. "Eye in the Sky" is a powerful movie about modern day drone warfare.