Director Gavin Hood
Genre Drama | Thriller | War
Cast Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi
Rating R
Release Date April 1st, 2016
“A military officer in command of a drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya sees her mission escalate from “capture” to “kill” just as a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone.”
Eye in the Sky is a drama focused on modern-warfare with a strong political overtone surrounding the premise of the film. Directed by Gavin Hood (he has quite the acting resume and played a role in this film) who previously directed X-Men Origins: Wolverine and 2013’s Ender’s Game. The film stars veteran actress Helen Mirren, Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul, as well as accomplished actor Alan Rickman. Rickman has an extensive acting resume and is widely known for his role as Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. The film also stars Somalian actor Barkhad Abdi who was previously nominated for an academy award for his role in the 2013 hit film Captain Phillips. It was nice to see him on-screen again.
Eye in the Sky was an incredible film that will not only put you on the edge of your seat but it also presents many very difficult and arguably unanswerable questions. I would not consider myself to be an expert on politics, not even close actually considering I once registered republican and voted democrat by accident (or was it the other way around?). I wish I was kidding but I’m not. Bottom line is this film raises political questions about the ethical, moral, and legal dilemmas surrounding drone warfare and the questions are not easily answered. Where do you draw the line when taking into account collateral damage? Honestly I’m just glad that I am not the one responsible for making that decision. Eye in the Sky will surely draw comparisons to the 2014 film Good Kill starring Ethan Hawke and January Jones and as enjoyable as that film was this is simply better.
The acting in Eye in the Sky is absolutely incredible and certainly Oscar-worthy in my personal opinion. Helen Mirren is astounding in her role as the accomplished and very demanding military Colonel Katherine Powell. Aaron Paul, the former star of the groundbreaking AMC series Breaking Bad, delivers an emotional performance and serves as the films moral compass especially considering it all comes down to his finger on the trigger. Alan Rickman is amazing in his role as Lt. General Frank Benson and it was truly bittersweet realizing this was one of his last roles as he recently passed away. The 69 year-old actor received a cancer diagnosis that was kept very much contained to close friends and family. He passed away in London on January 14th, 2016. His acting talents will be missed and I really hope his name is mentioned come award season. His grand finale and final role is the voice of the Blue Caterpillar in Alice Through the Looking Glass which will release in May.
Eye in the Sky is a gripping edge of your seat thriller packed with suspense right until the very end. I am a huge fan of war films and The Hurt Locker is one of my all-time favorites mainly because it is such an intimate portrayal of war. Eye in the Sky takes it one step further and focuses on the hot-button topic of drone warfare, which allows our military to execute a target from thousands of miles away. I actually covered my eyes many times because the suspense was nearly unbearable, which is very unlike me. The technology utilized by our military to accomplish such a feat is jaw-dropping to say the least (seriously where can I get one of those surveillance beetles?). Eye in the Sky is a tense drama that will undoubtedly raise your blood pressure to dangerous levels and potentially take years off of your life, but trust me when I say that this is a film that should not be missed.
