Eye In The Sky (2016) Review Links

London-based military intelligence officer Colonel Katherine Powell is remotely commanding a top secret drone operation to capture a group of dangerous terrorists from their safe-house in Nairobi, Kenya. The mission suddenly escalates from a “capture” to a “kill” operation as Powell realizes that the terrorists are about to embark on a deadly suicide mission. From his base in Nevada, American drone pilot Steve Watts is poised to destroy the safe-house when a nine year old girl enters the kill zone just outside the walls of the house. With unforeseen collateral damage now entering the equation, the impossible decision of when to strike gets passed up the “kill chain” of politicians and lawyers as the seconds tick down.

EYE IN THE SKY is a contemporary international thriller set in the shadowy world of remotely piloted drone warfare.

After tracking a British citizen-turned-terrorist for six years, Colonel Katherine Powell (Academy Award winner Helen Mirren) finally corners her target in Kenya with the help of high-tech American drone surveillance. As Special Forces troops close in, the discovery of plans for a pair of imminent suicide bombings turns an intended capture into a mission to kill. But just as the Las Vegas-based drone pilot (Emmy Award winner Aaron Paul) prepares to launch a powerful Hellfire missile at the safe house, a nine-year-old girl is spotted in the kill zone, sparking an international debate at the highest levels of government about whether saving one child’s life is worth the almost certain death of hundreds of others. Meanwhile, a local operative (Academy Award nominee Barkhad Abdi) risks everything to try and get the girl to safety.

Taking place in near real-time across four continents, Eye in the Sky is a white-knuckle thriller that tackles the moral ambiguities of modern-day warfare head on. With a top-flight ensemble cast that also includes Alan Rickman, Jeremy Northam, Iain Glen and Phoebe Fox, the film deftly explores a political, legal and moral minefield in which every decision comes at a steep price.