The very tense drama Good Kill based on actual events puts the audience inside the Middle East dealing with drone attacks. The high pressured men who control the payloads delivered by the unmanned air ships are at the center of the film and by all accounts convey a very realistic view of the ‘new’ warfare. Now on Blu-ray and DVD the movie stars 4 time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke in a poignant role that’s made for him to play.
Ace pilot Tom Egan (Ethan Hawke) has landed a new job after 6 tours in the Middle East. He’s now at a base in the Las Vegas desert instead of hot rodding a screaming jet over Afghanistan. Sitting in front of a console he’s guiding drones over the same country he delivered a payload, but now without the possibility of getting shot down. While his wife Molly (January Jones) and kids are delighted that their father can come home every night after a mission, he misses the action in the air.
Recently assigned to assist Tom, Airman Vera Suarez (Zoe Kravitz) is eager to learn form the crack pilot as part of her training. As she steps into the role of initializing a strike by a Drone she starts to see how important her duty, but also how easy it is to kill. Things start getting dicey when a CIA Officer under the code name Langley (voice of Peter Coyote) supersedes their commanding officer Lt. Colonel Jack Johns (Bruce Greenwood) and starts bombing Afghan civilians.
The film directed and written by Andrew Niccol (Lord of War) shows the inside out of working with drones at war. Much like the video games played by mature teens the strikes on Afghanistan in this film are made the same way. Flying a drone two miles in the air from inside the Middle East to reach their target the Airmen pinpoint the enemy using high tech equipment and their own experience as a flyer to hone in for the kill. Besides being an excellent drama Niccol’s film opens the eyes of his audience with an experience that’s unknown to most people.
Nicely photographed with realistic sets and scenery the film takes on a tense aura as the Airmen who do the long distance killing feel the psychological effects. While most of the targets are ‘good kills’ in a few there’s collateral damage as well. Niccol shows explosiveness of the one-way fighting not only in the Middle East, but at home in the families of the Airmen who have the task of pulling the trigger.
As the Major who has to get the drone to the target, Ethan Hawke embodies himself as Tom Egan. His tours of duty from a jet in the sky are over, but missing is the excitement that he craves. So much so he pushes his commander for just one more tour. Working the screen with a determined expression to do his best at killing with drones, the audience should get the feeling that it’s not just the same. As his character moves forward Egan realizes there’s a change in the air.
Bonus Features:
“Good Kill” a behind the scenes look on the making of the movie only available on the Blu-ray disc.
“Ultraviolet Download” Watch it anywhere with instant streaming on your mobile device.
Good Kill has been rated R for violent content including a rape, language, and some sexuality. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children to see the film as it does have some scenes that are inappropriate for adolescents.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good film that keeps the war effort equal to the personal drama. (B)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Bruce Greenwood, Zoe Kravitz, Peter Coyote
Director and writer: Andrew Niccol
MPAA Rating: R for violent content including a rape, language, and some sexuality
Genre: War, Drama
Running Time: 1 hr. 42 min.
Original Theatrical Release Date: May 15, 2015
Video Release Date: September 1, 2015
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray + HD (also available in DVD)
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio an Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD
Video: Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
Subtitles: English, French and Spanish subtitles
Number of Discs: 2 Discs plus Ultraviolet download code
Distributed by: Paramount Home Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
