Good Kill

The first major film to grapple with the ethics of the USA's new weapon of choice—the unmanned drone—deserves credit for taking on the subject, even if it ultimately resorts to shallow dramatics and simplistic point-making. Ethan Hawke stars as Tom Egan, an Air Force pilot serving as an ace drone controller in Nevada. From a sleek metal booth, Egan rains down missiles with uncanny precision on targets deemed dangerous to U.S. interests, while also trying to avoid collateral damage—a job that becomes even more stressful after the program is put under the direction of the CIA. Although neither Egan nor his commander are happy about having their judgment usurped by a disembodied voice from Langley, all they can do is debate the morality of the situations while still following orders. During that back-and-forth, questions about drone strategy are brought into focus, but while the arguments on either side are important, they also increasingly seem didactic. What gives Good Kill its dramatic heft isn't what's said so much as the way that Egan responds, growing distant from his wife and kids, and drinking to dull his misgivings. Hawke captures the character's transformation with admirable restraint and quiet depth but the story itself ultimately flounders when Egan takes matters into his own hands. Good Kill invites discussion about a controversial aspect of U.S. policy in the War on Terror, even if it does so in clumsy dramatic fashion. A strong optional purchase. [Note: Blu-ray extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (15 min.), and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an ambitious but uneven drama.] (F. Swietek)