Eye in the Sky

Last year's little-seen gem, "Good Kill," was the first prominent film to deal with drone warfare and the moral and ethical questions that arise from this, now standard, means of fighting.

Now, a major studio tackles these very timely issues with surprising care, balance, and grace. "Eye in the Sky" puts the viewer right dab in the middle of the impossible decisions faced by our military leaders and then shows each and every angle, from the political to the tactical to the moral.

Directed in a lean and clean manner by Gavin Hood (the underrated "Rendition") and thoughtfully written by Guy Hibbert, the suspense thriller focuses on a closely watched, unfolding terrorist operation in a village in Nairobi, Kenya.

Fiercely assured Brit mission leader Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) and her team have targeted terrorists on the US/UK most wanted list and spotted suicide vests inside the home where they are currently gathered. Powell's instinct is to blow them to smithereens as, to her, the scenario has changed from capture to kill. But the drone operators (led by "Breaking Bad's" Aaron Paul) spot a little girl selling bread right outside the attack area and ask for a re-assessment of collateral damage.

Plus Powell cannot make this decision alone. In a cozy room somewhere in the UK, Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman) leads a debate among the Brit higher-ups that focus on the political ramifications, in particular, whether killing the girl would raise more of a ruckus in the propaganda war than if they allow the terrorists to suicide bomb a slew of innocent citizens. And even they must "refer up" to their Prime Minister as well as the Americans, as no one wants blood directly on his hands.

In the end, most of the many gray areas are explored as the filmmakers pile on the complications and raise the cinematic stakes.

The urgency of the film cannot be overstated, since each day in the news there are more and more reports of drone attacks. Also, the film addresses how social media now affects these significant decisions.

Every actor is pitch perfect. Mirren knows exactly how to modulate her performance, so we feel just enough humanity but, also, understand her impossible predicament. And Rickman, in his last screen appearance, is simply magnificent. His final speech about the cost of war is a fitting tribute to his artistry as an actor.

The Blu-ray visuals are perfectly landscape-dull and military-dismal, contrasting with the colorful backgrounds where each leader is being contacted, while the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 aides seamlessly at immersing the viewer into the action.

The disc extras are paltry, to say the least. There are two "featurettes" that amount to brief trailers, titled "Perspectives" and "Morals," and clocking in at under three minutes total. Considering the stellar cast, that is pretty sad.

"Eye in the Sky"
Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD
$19.96
https://www.uphe.com/movies/eye-in-the-sky