Synopsis
In the shadowy world of drone warfare, combat unfolds like a video game–only with real lives at stake. After six tours of duty, Air Force pilot Tom Egan now fights the Taliban from an air-conditioned bunker in the Nevada desert. But as he yearns to get back in the cockpit of a real plane and becomes increasingly troubled by the collateral damage he causes each time he pushes a button, Egan’s nerves—and his relationship with his wife—begin to unravel.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Ethan HawkeCommandant Tom Egan
- January JonesMolly Egan
- Zoë KravitzAirman Vera Suarez
- Jake AbelM.I.C. Joseph Zimmer
- Bruce GreenwoodLieutenant Colonel Jack Johns
- Alma SisnerosEmily James
- Kristen RakesIris
- Dylan KeninCapt. Ed Christie
- Michael SheetsDanny
- Peter CoyoteLangley
Recommendations
- 80
Variety
Just as Niccol’s narrative structure is at once fraught and immaculate in its escalation of ideas and character friction, so his arguments remain ever-so-slightly oblique despite the tidiness of their presentation. - 80
Empire
It’s "Top Gun" with gamer’s thumb. Ethan Hawke shines in a complex, satisfying character study turned combat thriller. - 75
Hitfix
Niccol is working in a very stripped down and direct mode, and I think overall, it works. Good Kill is unsettling, and the entire cast does spare, unsentimental work. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Niccol weighs the human toll on both aggressor and target with intelligence and compassion, while questioning whether technological warfare is inevitably destined to be an unending cycle. - 67
The Playlist
Niccol’s film takes a somber, nuanced and compelling look at the War on Terror as it is waged by U.S. drone pilots, right up until a final five minutes that, in a shower of pat resolutions and conclusions, delivers something of a surgical strike on the its credibility. - 60
The Guardian
Niccol creates an atmosphere that is airless and dull, an unusual tone for a modern war film, but one that fits the subject matter perfectly. - 60
The Telegraph
A searching, timely drama about the dehumanising effects of waging war at a distance. - 60
Total Film
Required viewing as a critique of US foreign policy but forgettable as a drama, Good Kill is a timely warning, even if it lacks the power of the horrors it depicts.
