Good Kill (2014)

A family man begins to question the ethics of his job as a drone pilot.

Director:

Andrew Niccol

Writer:

Andrew Niccol

Stars:

Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoë Kravitz

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fatima El Bahraouy	...	The Woman (as Fatima El Bahraquy)
El Khttabi Abdelouahab	...	The Boy
Ethan Hawke	...	Major Thomas Egan
Bruce Greenwood	...	Lt. Colonel Jack Johns
Jake Abel	...	M.I.C. Joseph Zimmer
Ryan Montano	...	Airman Roy Carlos
Dylan Kenin	...	Capt. Ed Christie
Stafford Douglas	...	Billy
Zion Rain Leyba	...	Travis Egan (as Zion Leyba)
January Jones	...	Molly Egan
Sachie Capitani	...	Jesse Egan
Michael Sheets	...	Danny
Zoë Kravitz	...	Airman Vera Suarez
Ross Shaw	...	Lt. Drier
Chakir Faiz	...	The Man

Storyline

A Las Vegas-based fighter pilot turned drone pilot fights the Taliban by remote control for 12 hours a day, then goes home to the suburbs and feuds with his wife and kids for the other 12. But the pilot is starting to question the mission. Is he creating more terrorists than he's killing? Is he fighting a war without end.

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Plot Keywords:

drone pilot | taliban | drone attack | collateral damage | moral dilemma | 

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Taglines:

If you never face your enemy, how can you face yourself.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent content including a rape, language, and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Máxima precisión

Filming Locations:

Morocco

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,005, 26 June 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$316,842, 28 June 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Voltage Pictures, Dune Films, Dune Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Debuted at the Venice film festival where it received great reception

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Goofs

The Air Combat Command patch worn on the flightsuits is not correct. The actual patch has the blue field on top and the red field on the bottom. Also, the sword on the actual patch is pointed downward.

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Quotes

Tom Egan: Another one of my jobs is damage assessment. Which is our way of saying counting the dead. Which is not as easy as it sounds. Beacause a lot of times the bodies are in so small pieces.

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Connections

Featured in Projector: Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2/Good Kill (2015)

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Soundtracks

Hold Out
Written by Jesse Nolan
Performed by Caught a Ghost
Courtesy of +1 Records
By arrangement with Zync Music Group LLC

User Reviews

Not entertainment but education

Sometimes movie-making can be at its best when it does not simply entertain but poses challenging questions about contemporary issues. "Good Kill" asks us whether it is moral, legal and even effective to use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (so-called drones) to eliminate assumed terrorists, even when collateral damage (that is, the deaths of non- terrorists) is likely or even certain. These are not academic questions: the use of drones to kill Islamic extremists has been extensive under the Obama administration in the United States and, just before I caught up with this film, my own government in Britain confirmed the use of drones to execute ISIS militants.

We see all the action - surprisingly close up and personal thanks to the amazing military technology - through the eyes of a Las Vegas-based fighter pilot turned drone pilot Major Thomas Egan. He is played by Ethan Hawke who is known for his wordy roles in films like the "Before ..." trilogy and "Boyhood" but here is laconic, showing the pained emotions in his face and movements more than in his few words - especially to his long-suffering wife Molly (January Jones).

New Zealand-born screenwriter-director Andrew Niccol ("Lord Of War") ensures that both sides of the argument are put, but there is no doubt on which side he himself sits. At the end, there is a sequence which gives the viewer some satisfaction, even a thrill, but Niccol has cleverly made us complicit in an act, the like of which we have spent most of the movie certainly questioning and possibly even condemning. "Good Kill" had limited theatrical release and success but it is a brave and honest attempt to make a political movie that raises vital issues.