Eye in the Sky

Starring Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman, this timely, nail-biting British thriller about drone warfare begins in London with Lt. Gen. Frank Benson (Rickman) and several officials having ascertained the exact location in Nairobi, Kenya, where several people on their most wanted list have convened, including a radicalized British woman with an Al-Shabaab militant. The titular “eye” is an American drone, piloted by Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) from a Nevada bunker, while Colonel Katherine Powell (Mirren) commands a local Kenyan team, ready to capture the woman and her conspirators. But when an on-site operative (Barkhad Abdi) flies a tiny drone into the target's house, pictures are fed back of the terrorists' preparations for an imminent suicide attack. “This changes things,” Powell notes, recommending that a Hellfire missile be immediately launched to destroy the building and its occupants. Problem is: the politicians are wary of endorsing a bombing, particularly since there is a child selling fresh-baked bread nearby. One after another, they refer up to Britain's Foreign Minister, the U.S. Secretary of State, etc. Tautly directed by Gavin Hood, this powerfully restrained examination of the ethics and moral quandaries involved in remote-controlled warfare is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the behind-the-scenes segments “Perspectives” (2 min.) and “Morals” (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a timely, thought-provoking film.] (S. Granger)