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What it's about:
Through remote surveillance and on-the-ground intel, a UK-based military officer in command of a top-secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya discovers that her targets are planning a suicide bombing, and the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill.” But, as American pilot Steve Watts is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute reaching the highest levels of US and British government over the moral, political, and personal implications of modern warfare.
What we thought:
Filmed in South Africa with Gavin Hood at the helm, Eye in the Sky centres on Col. Katherine Powell, a military officer, who is in command of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya.
Col Powell’s mission unexpectedly escalates when a girl enters the kill zone triggering an international dispute.
Starring Helen Mirren (Col. Katherine Powell) and Aaron Paul (Steve Watts) the film tells the story of the implications of modern warfare in a very unique and absolutely gripping way.
Hood, who also stars in the film, manages to tell a story we’ve seen before in a way we’d never expect.
Although the film builds up to an edge-of-your-seat experience closer to the end, the start of this thriller is painfully slow.
Eye in the Sky is like an old steam train that suffers up the mountain, but once it reaches its peak it’s a thrilling ride all the way to the end. The build-up, as it’s later revealed, is essential for character development and engrossing the viewer in the very human side story.
Unexpected twists, sudden developments and fascinating dialogue combine to deliver a film that’s undoubtedly worth the watch.
Hood, who won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for Tsotsi, uses his unique storytelling formula to create a film that’s both action-packed and stuffed with softer more emotional moments - a challenging balancing act that ultimately tips in the film’s favour.
