Eye in the Sky: Average Guy Movie Review

Gavin Hood brings 21st Century warfare to the big screen with Eye in the Sky. A movie that will not only be remembered for its great story and brilliant performances but also as the last live action performance of the late Alan Rickman.

Helen Mirren stars as Colonel Katherine Powell, an intelligence officer in the British Army running a joint counter-terrorism operation to capture an international group of terrorists in Kenya linked to Al-Shabaab. Working with Powell are US Airforce Lieutenant Steve Watts (Aaron Paul), a Reaper drone Pilot based out of Creech Airforce Base, Nevada and Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi), an undercover Kenyan Field Agent. Alan Rickman plays Powell's commanding officer Lieutenant General Frank Benson, the man responsible for liaising between the military and the Politicians supervising the mission. When complications arise, all involved are faced with the moral dilemma of weighing up the consequences of what could happen with what will happen if they proceed.

With great performances all round, brilliant special effects and a gripping story, Eye in the Sky is a tense thriller that clearly depicts the reality of 21st Century warfare and the fact that modern technology doesn't necessarily make the job easier. It begs the question: how far do you go to save lives? Where's the line between moral and immoral? According to Director Gavin Hood, 30% of US drone Pilots are treated for post traumatic stress disorder. If this movie is anything to go by it's easy to see why, in fact it's amazing the figure isn't higher.

The movie doesn't try to question or second guess the people responsible for making these decisions, it just demonstrates what they face on a daily basis, how the world they live in isn't black and white but varying shades of grey. It's a movie that will no doubt spark debate with all who watch it, and so it should. Lieutenant General Benson says it best when he tells a politician: "never tell a soldier that he does not know the cost of war".

Anyone who enjoys an intelligent and thought provoking thriller should definitely watch Eye in the Sky. For Alan Rickman it's a fitting conclusion to an incredible career.

What did you think of Eye in the Sky? Let us know by leaving a comment below or find us on FaceBook and Twitter.

Comments

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning | Average Guy Movie Review

Two months after acquiring both halves of the cruciform key, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is ready to put an end to the Entity, once and for all. However, in that time the rogue A.I. has increased its stranglehold on cyber space and the planet. Spreading lies and misinformation, the people of the world are divided more than ever, and governments are on high alert. All of which should make it rather difficult, maybe even impossible for Ethan and his team to find a sunken Russian submarine and, use whatever they find there to kill the artificial intelligence that's slowly taking control of the world's nuclear arsenals. It is entirely possible that Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning could be the most anxiety inducing instalment of the franchise - the second half, anyway. Once again, Tom Cruise puts himself through the absolutely ludicrous in the name of entertainment... and a possible adrenaline addiction. Every scenario in which Ethan and the gang find themselves seems to be d...

Jason Bourne: Spoiler Review

I don't usually write spoiler filled reviews because I don't see the point. But considering my not so positive review of Jason Bourne, one of the most highly anticipated movies of Summer 2016, I thought it might be worth trying to explain why I reached the verdict I did. If you haven't seen this movie stop reading because there are spoilers ahead. Click here to see the spoiler free review. The movie begins with Bourne in Greece. He's laying low, making money by competing in underground fights and still struggling with his past. He lacks purpose which is making him miserable. Nicky Parsons on the other hand is busy hacking the CIA in order to expose their black ops programs. So far so good. But when Nicky finds something out about Jason's (or should I say David's) past, she heads to Greece to find him. Unfortunately her activities have drawn the attention of CIA Agent Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander), a cyber ops specialist who begins to track her. Using a ...

4DX – Is it worth it or just a gimmick?

Having watched the promo video what do you think? This week I saw Ghostbusters in 4DX and it definitely made the movie more of a ride. In fact 4DX feels like it was designed to appeal to the roller coaster crowd but will you miss the experience when watching the same movies at home? When I saw Ghostbusters for the second time I decided to view it in 4DX because I wanted to know what the "environmental effects" did for the movie going experience. If you want to know what I thought of Ghostbusters check out my Average Guy Movie Review . In my honest opinion; right now 4DX is more of a gimmick than an experience. The movement, air bursts, smoke and spraying water were more of a distraction than anything else, all of which felt out of sink with the movie. The effects like the strobe lights went off a split second before whatever they were supposed to augment happened. For example; during a subway scene, the Ghostbusters find a ghost in the tunnel who had been executed u...

Search This Blog