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Released By: Universal
Released On: June 28, 2016
Director: Gavin Hood
Cast:Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Barkhad Abdi, Jeremy Northam
Year: 2015
The Movie:
Extraordinary actor Alan Rickman's last on-screen role is Eye In The Sky, a look at the morality of modern warfare and the damage that it inflicts on innocent civilians. A group of Sharia Law-loving terrorists, known as Al-Shabaab, are currently in Nairobi conducting some high-level terrorist business, having recently beheaded a British agent. Through the use of allied Kenyan military forces and US armed drones, British Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) has ascertained that these terrorists are among some of the most wanted of the terrorist group's leadership, including former UK citizen-turned-extremist Susan Danford. Establishing lines of communication with her Lieutenant General, Frank Benson (Alan Rickman), Powell attempts to get the go-ahead to capture the targets, but the terrorists hit the road before approval can be given.
Utilizing the United States' deployed drones, Powell has the targets followed to another building, one inside of a guarded compound, and, with the help of her friendlies in Nairobi and a nifty electronic spy beetle piloted by a nearby agent, verifies that even more top terrorists are present. With the possibility of taking out multiple targets in one shot made available, Powell pressures Benson into giving the go-ahead for an elimination by drone instead of a capture, a decision that is hindered by the cabinet ministers that Benson must report to. Though the location of the building prevents an easy capture, its proximity to civilian population guarantees innocent victims of a drone strike, a public relations nightmare that the suits don't want to have to deal with. On the flip side, the fancy spy beetle has identified suicide vests and other explosives in the house, a sure sign that another terrorist attack is soon to be carried out.
After a (very long and repetitive) back-and-forth-and-back-and-forth-and-back-and-forth dialogue, Powell finally gets approval from all of the parties involved to fire the drone-launched Hellfire missiles into the building, but finds a final obstacle in the form of Steve Watts, a drone pilot with a conscience. Is it worth killing an innocent child to eliminate the upper echelon of an organization that will surely kill many more innocents? Or does the advanced warfare of drone technology and an impersonal computer screen make it too easy for armchair military staff to kill without a conscience?
Eye In The Sky attempts to examine all sides of the dilemma, and in doing so, fails to answer anything. Just about everyone is involved in the making the decisions...three different countries, multiple levels of military personnel, legal advisers, cabinet ministers, secretaries of state, etc, and the dialogue and actions of those involved are heavy-handed and extreme on both sides of the argument....one could say that the film attempts to make it an unbiased examination of such technology, but by the time the film concludes, it's anything but unbiased. Each point is met with an opposing point, that goes on and on, back-and-forth, seemingly infinitely. Accusations of murderers casually killing from the comfort of their chair come off as contrived, and drone pilots shedding tears as pull the trigger don't help the cause.
Adding to the endless atmosphere of the film is the visual makeup of the film; just over 100 minutes of spy-cam, drone-cam, Skype-cam. If you like watching a bunch of small screens on your screen, this film may appeal to you, but I personally found it frustrating. No comment can be made on Hood's Direction, really....a lot of static shots of actors and shaky, overhead drone footage. Add in the constant repetitive arguments and what can only be described as a monotonous comedy of errors as attempts are made to clear the area of civilians, and you have a story that could have been more effectively told in ten minutes. A great cast can only do the best with what they're given, and Mirren and Rickman are both under-utilized, with Aaron Paul demonstrating that he's about as one-dimensional as you thought he was.
The opening quote from the film, "In war, truth is the first casualty." is an obvious statement, and the rest of Eye In The Sky is about as deep.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Universal brings Eye In The Sky to blu-ray (and DVD and HD Download) in a 2.40:1 transfer that looks great, as a new film should. Blacks, and there are a fair bit of them, look solid with no artifacting, and detail is sharp during a multitude of dim scenes. The daylight shots are vibrant and detailed as well, with no visual issue. A DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English) is the sole audio option on the disc, and it does a decent job of carrying the dialogue and soundtrack. Moderate use of the surrounds and LFE are there, but won't give your system a workout, as the majority of the film consists of talking, which is always clearly audible and well-balanced.
English (SDH) and Spanish Subtitles are available.
Two supplements are available, one called Perspectives (1:22) and one called Morals (1:31) that are essentially the same thing, short clips from the film with the Director and some actors from the film briefly describing the plot and the moral questions found within the film.
A Universal Trailer Reel is also provided.
The Final Word:
I had hoped for a lot more from this film, especially as a fan of Rickman and Mirren, but was bored to tears by the repetitive questions asked throughout, as well as the bombardment of "cam-screen" made this one a real chore to sit through.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
