Good Kill

Greetings again from the darkness. It sounds like a screenwriter's workshop: write a story centered on a joystick, a computer monitor, a speaker phone and a shipping container. Most would surrender their Pulitzer dream and head back to the day job. Andrew Niccol, on the other hand, is a talented writer/director known for such projects as Gattaca, Lord of War, and The Truman Show. His story is set in 2010 and is "based on a true story" of drone warfare.

It could seem a bit dated to explore a topic that most have known about for years, but Niccol manages to wring out a story that keeps us engaged and more importantly, encourages discussion about the concept of "video game warfare".

Ethan Hawke plays a fighter pilot who has been reassigned as a drone pilot after serving 6 tours in Afghanistan. Each day he reports to duty on a Las Vegas base and spends 12 hours locked away in a cramped shipping container staring at a video monitor while delicately manipulating a joystick that can kill people 7000 miles away within 10 seconds. These killer drones have transformed warfare, and as far as I know, this is the first film version dedicated to the daily lives of the men and women serving this duty.

Given what we know about fighter pilots, it's not surprising that Hawke's character is crumbling emotionally … missing the danger that comes with a real cockpit. His marriage to January Jones is void of any intimacy or communication (partially due to his alcoholism), though surprisingly, Ms. Jones delivers something other than her typical cardboard cutout performance. Watching the suburban lifestyle of these two – grilling, backyard parties, math homework with the kids – brings nothing new to the screen, but tension is palpable as Hawke and his co-drone-pilot Zoe Kravitz are locked away and forced to follow morally-questionable orders from Langley (voiced by the great Peter Coyote). Put yourself on that joystick and imagine what you would do.

The story pushes us to discuss the dehumanization of war, and the idea that the Air Force is now best described as the "Chair Force". Especially interesting is the official verbiage used by the CIA and military in an effort to avoid "killing" and "innocent bystanders". Think about the fact that 3 decades have passed since we got caught up in the thrill of Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer as Top Gun pilots, and now some of the most deadly decisions are made based on a visual feed from a done hovering at 10,000 feet.

Mr. Niccol delivers a thought-provoking movie, which alone sets it above many. The drone's eye view follows not just the movements of the enemy, but also those of Hawke at home and in his car. Hawke's commanding officer is played by Bruce Greenwood, who delivers the film's best line: as Hawke is looking at Greenwood's fighter pilot photos, he says, you are probably thinking "I must have been a pilot before Pontius". It's a great line and one that reinforces how warfare has changed … from boots on the ground to recruits based on their video game savvy. Surgical strikes are the preferred manner of warfare, so watch this and ask yourself … what would you do?

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.

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.

This is a, at least in my opinion, a realistic portrayal of the inner conflict of UAV "pilot" and has very real characters with very real moral conflicts, and to me, that's a very interesting setup and my kind of movie. I don't think this'll be everyone's movie though. There's no epic awesome action sequence or extremely tense moments (there is a couple of moments that are more intense than the overall feel of the movie but not super intense). The main thing this movie has going for it is the deep gray-area type of moral conflict that the characters (not just the main character) face and it makes you think about them. Towards the end however, there is a very satisfactory feel that made you feel good and "all is just in the world" and that's a big plus for a movie like this, because a lot of these types of movie end in somewhat of an empty way. Now, as stated, because this isn't a entertainment kind of movie, there are going to be people saying that the characters were boring and monotonous, etc., but really, that's what fit the movie setup, and that's what is realistic. It's definitely not for everyone, but it was my type of film and I enjoyed it and plan to rewatch it to rethink through the moral conflicts in the movie.

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.