"Eye in the Sky" Review

Drone strike technology has effectively given world powers the finger of God.

Face-to-face combat is no longer needed to quell global conflict, as targets can now be eliminated from thousands of miles away, with the same device used to play “Angry Birds.”

This horrifying reality is the driving force of Gavin Woods “Eye in the Sky,” a film that attempts to explore the ethical implications of a drone strike scenario.

It mostly succeeds through effective suspense and crystal-clear filmmaking, though its lack of restraint and simplistic characters leave something to be desired.

Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) of the British Armed Forces leads a surveillance mission for the purpose of locating and capturing international terrorists hiding out in Kenya. The mission escalates to a kill order when three of the top 10 most wanted terrorists in the world are tracked under the same roof, a small shack in Nairobi preparing for a suicide bombing. Powell corresponds with political leaders in Britain, military personnel in Nevada, and undercover agents in Kenya as they prepare for the drone strike. When a 9-year-old Kenyan girl enters the strikes kill zone, all parties are forced to assess the moral, political, and military implications of their attack.

“Eye in the Sky” never overtly establishes a political agenda. It instead creates moral ambiguity by exploring the pros and cons of the situation while leaving judgment to the viewer. The effort to blur the line between aggressor and victim is laudable, but the execution is off, as the moral conflict isn’t shown as a full spectrum of grays but as a clash between two extreme viewpoints.

The result is some shallow characterization. The military officials never waver in their “bomb now” approach, showing a disdain for rules and procedure that border on John McClane levels. A female political advisor is steadfast in her “think of the children” ideology, while every other decisive voice is a weasel-like politicians, constantly “referring up” to their superiors as a way to avoid responsibility.

Conversely, the Kenyan girl’s family are shown as idyllic and pure. Our introduction to them is a father repairing his daughters hula-hoop, shown at the height of humility, not able to afford a new ring of plastic. Even if a poor young girl playing hula-hoop does illicit a desired audience response of harmonic “Awww,” this depiction can at times feel corny. The family comes off as angelic as opposed to real.

Issues with character portrayal aside, the film builds tension perfectly. Stakes are raised with each passing second, accentuated beautifully with continuous cross cutting and pulsing score. The constant stream of edits can be confusing if your focus wavers, but it’s an intensely rewarding experience for the attentive viewer.

There’s never a moment where the movie lets up. It maintains a tight grip throughout its entirety, leaving the audience thoroughly wrung-out and staggering away from the theatre when it comes to a close.

“Eye in the Sky’s” craft is impeccable, but the film’s most impressive feat is its ability to inspire lofty ideas. Though military officials and politicians are tasked with approving a drone strike, all of the risks of an attack are held by their subordinates. Undercover agents on the ground are in constant threat of enemy capture, and when an attack order is given, low-ranking military personnel hold the mental burden of pulling the trigger.

The victims of drone strike collateral damage are apolitical, and their lives are destroyed incidentally with very little understanding of why. There’s no attempt to hide the fact that this creates a perception of ruthless cruelty, and breeds hate in the population who experience it.

But what is the alternative, allow terrorists to carry out atrocious acts? Though the human capital lost in drone strikes may be great, it likely comes nowhere near the amount of suffering caused in their absence.

Do the ends justify the means, or is it fighting evil with evil?

These are the type of questions “Eye in the Sky” desperately wants the audience to ask, and the provocative conversations that will occur after the credits roll are more than worth the price of admission.

The film is in memory of the late Alan Rickman, who plays the John McClane like general mentioned before (taking a break from the Hans Gruber side). Perhaps best known for his work as Snape in the Harry Potter series, he was a quality on screen presence, boasting a consistency few character actors could match, as well as an often imitated baritone that was sensuous and spine-tingling.

He will be missed.

4/5

At a glance:

“Eye in the Sky” is a provocative, suspenseful thriller from a sizeable array of talent.