Review of Eye in the Sky

Drone strikes. From the outside, it feels like a cleaner, less brutal form of warfare, where missions by way of machine result in fewer casualties. But in reality, just like as Gavin Hood's Eye in the Sky informs us, these type of missions are fraught with logistical issues, moral quagmires, and emotional turmoil. Despite featuring very little "traditional" action sequences, this is as intense and suspenseful a film as you're likely to find in theaters right now. Eye in the Sky sets up a straightforward situation, introduces the inevitable complications and proceeds to dig into every angle. Terms like "rules of engagement," "collateral damage," and even "the propaganda war" play huge roles, where every decision comes down to managing risk versus reward. And it does all of this with a clear, apolitical yet enormously complex stance.

As the movie opens, a group of terrorists have settled into a safehouse in Nairobi, Kenya. Among them are three individuals, one American and two British, who have joined an extremist faction. The United States, British, and Kenyan governments are all working together to track and capture the suspected terrorists. Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) runs the military operation and reports to Lt. General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman). Primary characters on the American side include drone pilots Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) and Carrie Gershon (Phoebe Fox). And Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi) handles the stealth work for the Kenyans at the ground level, operating a remote-controlled beetle with a camera. What initially starts out as a capture mission quickly changes course when surveillance footage reveals the terrorists have suicide bomb vests and are readying for a strike. To further complicate matters, a little girl selling bread to provide for her family enters the blast radius.

The movie's basic plot may seem simple, but the endless debate around what to do is anything but. The approval of a hellfire missle strike requires multiple approvals on the British side, some of whom are so indecisive that they keep "referring up" again and again. Lawyers must agree on whether or not it's okay to kill American and British citizens without them seeing their day in court. The mortality rate of any innocent civilians caught in the blast radius has to fall below a certain level for everyone to feel comfortable, but even that is just an estimate. And what about the dilemma of taking one life to save 80? Would an eventual strike by terrorists killing many innocent people look better for propaganda than a US/UK strike killing one? Eye in the Sky delves into all of this and more.

The action which drives the most debate, that of a little girl potentially dying, at first glance seems contrived. The American pilots observe her casually playing in her backyard, and her later appearance in the blast zone puts a lump in the throat of both them and us. But it's where the movie takes this coincidence that matters most. Even from thousands of miles away and with full support of one's superiors, the thought of pulling the trigger and ending an innocent life is enough to cause significant psychological hangups in the drone pilots. All of this plays out in real time, at times cranking up the suspense to nail-biting levels.

No awards will be handed out for acting; these are mostly low-key portrayals a la Spotlight. But they work to perfection. Helen Mirren is superb as a tough officer whose six-year obsession with tracking these terrorists results in her desperately trying to find loopholes in the situation. Equally strong is Aaron Paul, who's confined to one seat for most of the movie but speaks volumes with his facial expressions as well as his dialogue. Barkhad Abdi makes his first motion picture appearance since his Oscar-nominated breakout in Captain Phillips, and it's great to see him back. Finally, the late Alan Rickman (in his final live-action performance) reminds us that while he's best known for genre projects like Die Hard and the Harry Potter series, he gives his all in smaller, character-based movies as well. Eye in the Sky is a fitting swan song for him (as is his character's final, stinging line about the cost of war), and I imagine anyone seeing this movie will miss him even more.

Eye in the Sky blends powerful drama and suspense into an immensely satisfying whole. Director Gavin Hood has taken on the hot-button political arena before with Rendition, an entertaining thriller revolving around the mortality of torture. But this is a stronger movie; it's more confident, more nail-biting, and it devotes equal time to all sides of the issue. Regardless of your stance on drone warfare, Eye in the Sky is worth seeking out. It doesn't stack the deck in favor of either viewpoint, but instead lays out the pros and cons and trusts viewers to be intelligent enough to come to their own conclusions. It's only April, but this one has a good chance at making my year-end Top 10 list.


Rating: ***1/2 (out of ****)