Eye in the Sky (2016) – Review

Wars are as old as mankind and preservation and/or expansion of territory and ideals often forms the basis for them. Since the second world war the way they are fought has changed dramatically. It used to mean that when a country would be in a war you would lose soldiers, but this isn’t always the case anymore. The introduction of drones is a good example. The pilots are safely on the ground on the other side of the world (something Good Kill showed) and the only loss you can experience is of your equipment and possibly some damage to your public image if a mission does not go as planned. Unfortunately the news shows that it sometimes does go wrong. Although there are rules to war, it is a situation in which emotions run high, parties want to achieve their goals and that sometimes might lead to an attempt to stretch the rules. That is also the case in Eye in the Sky.

Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) is in the UK leading a mission to arrest al-Shabaab extremists in Kenya. Some terrorists high in the organization have resurfaced after a long time and this seems to be the only chance to get these wanted persons. Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is the pilot of a drone that keeps them close watch on them and in addition there is a ground team present to keep their eyes on the location using miniaturized cameras (in the form of birds). It soon becomes clear that the group is about to commit another terrorist attack, so the purpose of the mission has to change from “capture” to “kill”. From a military point of view it’s easy to explain, but before Powell can give the order to bomb the site, she needs permission from the politicians. She’s in contact with Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman), who consults with the foreign minister. It soon becomes apparent how difficult it is to get permission. While the discussion about the strike keeps going up the chain politically, the window to strike slowly starts to close.

 Eye in the Sky is a competently made film that manages to show how much influence bureaucracy may have in situations where urgency is needed. A decision needs to be made on losing some lives now or more later on. That occasionally results in thrilling moments, but I still had a big problem with the film. I think it is best compared to The Wizard of Oz. As a viewer you want to believe in the ability of the magician, but during the opening of the film, I felt that I had already looked behind the curtain. The way in which a specific character is presented quickly made it clear where the film would eventually end up, so I was not on the edge of my seat. The acting in the film is exceptional and it is a pity to see Rickman in his last role, but unfortunately this was not the exciting thriller which I expected it to be.