Cert 15
102 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent bloody moments, infrequent strong language
It's taken a while for me to get around to watching Gavin Hood's thriller but on the way home from My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 in Sheffield, I nipped in to Cineworld, Chesterfield to make sure I did not miss out.
This turned out to be a wise decision. Eye In The Sky is superbly crafted with tension oozing from almost every riveting scene.
This is made possible by an outstanding cast, led by Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman and Aaron Paul.
The scenario is a cross between War Book and Good Kill, concentrating on the machinations surrounding a potential drone strike against terrorists in a Kenyan village.
Mirren plays a hard-nosed colonel who believes that the strike is the correct course of action regardless of collateral damage.
But such is the quality of aerial cameras that it can be clearly seen that a young girl in the neighbouring street will likely be killed if the attack takes place.
The targets can be seen on screens not only in Mirren's military bunker but also in the COBRA meeting in Whitehall where a general (Rickman) is joined by the Attorney General (Richard McCabe) and senior politicians.
Meanwhile, at a United States air base, Aaron Paul and Phoebe Fox play the officers who will be responsible for executing the kill orders should they come.
Much of Eye In The Sky is centred on responsibility shifting and the debate over the legal and moral dilemmas surrounding a drone attack under tight time constraints.
Each participant knows a bad decision could cost lives but is also aware of the political fall-out if it is perceived that the wrong one is made.
It adds up to a fascinating but nerve-shredding couple of hours.
Reasons to watch: tense, well-crafted thriller
Reasons to avoid: goes over the same ground quite a bit
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8.5/10
Star tweet
Anthony Horowitz Finished the day with Eye in the Sky: a tense, intelligent, very enjoyable film with no latex-covered heroes.
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