Good Kill

About 20 minutes in I started to really gravitate to the subject material. I didn't realize this was going to be a film that would capture my attention as much as it did.

The main story is about the drone operators in our armed services, and his life while doing a job that requires taking lives all too frequently. Its very interesting, watching the psychological stresses of "being a fly on the wall," much less a fly with the option to light your day up.

Basically, a drone operator's job consists of killing and spying on terrorists.

As a part of a drone team currently operating various military and CIA operations, the main characters live in Vegas, and pretty much do this from their local office just down the road from home.

So these "soldiers" don't tour like a normal soldier might. They're posted locally... And their jobs do not require travel with today's communication tech.

You see, They get into their car... Drive to an undisclosed military base (close by daily commute)... Walk into a trailer loaded with state of the art communications and drone equipment... Sit down at their station... And kill people on the other side of the planet through a monitor with super HD resolution. (Military tech blows your progressive scan out of the water, just saying.)

The job is far from a normal one...

"You punch out... You drive home to your picture perfect neighborhood, your picture perfect family, but the images stay with you... Your actions... Stay with you."

Hands down a great topic to base a film on. Really enjoying it thoroughly...

By 40 minutes into this film, every news report I've seen on drones, every public debate and moral argument about the accountability in drone strikes... It all shot to the front of my thoughts as John Stewart rants suddenly came into focus.

A worthy watch... Real eye opener to how easily these resources could be abused and miss used by our shadowy government structure.

Leaves so many ethical boundaries scathed by the existence of this truly "hands off" way of going to war... And the kicker?

We've been doing it for years.

Its no wonder America is so hated...

Great film. Does a wonderful job exploring the arguments from every side... And makes some great points that show how grey war and terrorism can become.

At what point does "fighting terrorism" cross that line? When do the protectors of freedom become another societies terrorist?

This all comes into question as the supervisors of the drone teams make it very clear to them that their mission is a "Pre-Emptive Strike" against terrorism.

It touches on so many conversations that would demand too much accountability... Yet, our continued actions literally propel a cycle of violence forward by becoming the "PreEmptive" strikers.

It does good making the viewer aware of the potential "other side" perspective on how American's operate. It does a better job showing the psychological effects on the drone pilots that are forced to follow questionably unethical orders... Day, after day, after day.

I gotta say... Its a dialog that needs to happen. I'm really pleased someone made this film. They pulled together an excellent presentation of the issue while entertaining me with solid performances and an occasionally moving script.

This is a great film for anyone who wants to learn about what our military is doing and how drone strikes work... It keeps you engaged once you're in, offers a fair amount of big moments to chew on, and ultimately weaves a great story. Dare I say, its as good as American Sniper... Just in different ways. You can tell the films are by two completely different teams. But thats not to say the stories aren't equally compelling in nature.

I have to say that beyond the movie... Its awesome to see Ethan Hawke in so many interesting roles over the last couple years.

Totally worth your time. Great film.

Good kill delivers a striking message with pinpoint accuracy. It deals with a disturbing side of war in all of its unabashed glory. The lead Ethan Hawke is excellent in his description of a man with two contrasting life, one or both of them might seem painfully surreal for him. Script is just as brash as it is refreshing, filled with military jargon and also complex questions. This is not an orthodox war movie, yet it venture farther than most.

Tom Egan (Ethan Hawke) is a drone pilot, fighting war from halfway across the globe. This seemingly non-dangerous job weighs on his mind as his relationships with his wife Molly (January Jones) suffers from the stress. The story pushes harder as the mission is gradually becoming more morally dubious and many lives are at stake. Acting is really solid, Hawke looks just like a seasoned veteran who's been drained by his service.

January Jones as his wife is mostly subtle, but she performs greatly on the more emotional scenes. It's not the normal melodramatic relationship that these two have, there's an effort to create functioning family, yet they are far too detached and distant to each other. Egan's colleagues are also excellent, especially Zoe Kravitz as Suarez, his younger co-pilot who exhibits rare virtue in the line of work and Bruce Greenwod as the commander who is as sympathetic as he is duty bound, who also delivers a mean speech.

Script is amazing, dialogues are powerfully engaging and thought provoking. It showcases suspense despite the pilots are not physically engaged in combat. The brash attitude, smart jab and fervent inquiries are presented elegantly to audiences. However, the constant switch between bird eye view and ordinary cinematography might be jarring and repetitive. While the everyday grind and heavy theme are meant to be exhausting, they can be excessively claustrophobic for the audiences.

Good Kill is not a conventional blockbuster action movie, yet it will generate profound contemplation for its emotionally taxing premise.

Even though I hate every war and soldiers on this planet I did enjoy this movie. It's all about the ethics of war. Who has the right killing other people? And is it fair for the innocent bystanders to get killed and being considered as collateral damage? Because let's be honest, the people that are at the top of every government and/or army, the people that decide if we should go to war or not, those are the people that will never get killed because they are the biggest cowards on this planet. They risk absolutely nothing but still get the credit in case of a victory or whatever. In Good Kill Ethan Hawke plays the soldier that has to push the trigger to kill people from the other end of the world, without being in the front line. He has to follow the dubious orders from maleficent evil people that have only greed and possessions as values in their lives. I thought it was a good movie, if you want to think a little bit further then the mainstream war propaganda we see every day. A good movie if you are like me thinking that every war is completely ridiculous. If everybody would mind his own business then there would never be wars. But then again, we are humans, the parasites of this planet, and thinking this madness will ever end is just an utopian idea.

Drones with Hellfire missiles lurk for entire days over selected targets around the world. Those who control the drones, sitting in air conditioned shipping containers near Las Vegas, are close enough sometimes to see the expressions on the faces of people as the missiles strike. The film explores complications involved in the strikes including; how easy it is for innocents to end up among the dead, difficulties in determining when and who to hit, confused chains of command, how easy it is to make mistakes or corrupt the process, and how we might feel if we were in the shoes of our targets. Major Thomas Egan (Ethan Hawke) is a vodka guzzling former pilot who laments how the U.S. Air Force has become the "U.S. Chair Force." We follow him in the office and at home as he sinks into depression, indifference and fatigue, and he still controls the trigger that determines, somewhat shakily at times, who lives or dies. While the plot could use some additional creativity and depth, and the acting is somewhat shallow, the film explores a fascinating subject. Actual strikes, from Wikileaks, add an extra dose or realism. Seen at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Ethan's acting is probably the biggest deterrent for me in this movie, but luckily the cheesiness doesn't last more than the first half. Silly things like his leather jacket to help him stand out amongst his peers in the desert sun at mid day. The movie is so well directed though, and the script is paced superbly. The dialog and character development keep you inside the head without having to narrate or explain anything overtly to the viewer so it really provokes thought in an organic way.

Supporting actors are very well integrated. Overall a terrific movie. I give it an 8 but at times it would be +/- 1 from beginning to end (7 to start, 9 at the end).

Very highly recommended if you're in the mood for something cerebral and heartfelt. I'd compare it to Requiem for a Dream, Rebound or Paid in Full in that respect.