It feels a bit strange saying this is a war movie. There won’t be special forces going into action, shooting, or dangerous missions. But there will be blood. And war, a different kind of war. Good Kill is a movie about Major Thomas Egan, a very capable but burnt-out drone operator struggling to make sense of his new job. You see, Egan was a pilot who flew a lot of combat missions in his F-16. He’s now reduced to sitting in a trailer in an army base near Las Vegas and killing people thousands of miles away with a push of a button. While the technology is brand new, one aspect of war never changes. And that aspect is the human cost, on both sides.
If all of this sounds a bit boring to you and you’re already thinking of closing this page, I beg you to reconsider. Just give this movie a chance and it won’t disappoint you. Trust me. It’s coming to us from Andrew Niccol, the same guy who brought us The Truman Show, Gattaca, and Lord of War. Just like with those masterpieces, I feel like everybody involved gave their absolute best. They felt like they had an obligation towards this subject to give it the treatment it deserves. Ethan Hawke gave another phenomenal performance, grounding the story and giving it a personal perspective.
I even liked Zoë Kravitz here, that’s how good the vibe was. January Jones and especially Bruce Greenwood were just as good. What makes Good Kill hit extremely hard are not just the performances and tight direction but also the fact it’s based on true events. The story takes place at the height of the War on Terror, in 2010. It shows just how brutally effective drones are. This single thing was enough to keep me engaged for ninety minutes. The disconnect between some grainy footage on the screen, the lives of people on that footage, and the guy with all the power in the world is stunning. You keep peeling away the layers and keep finding more and more sorrow.
Even that The Onion Obama drone meme (Drone Places Fresh Kill On Steps Of White House) will be, oh, who am I kidding, it will still be hard-hitting. Throughout history, there have been many “drones”. There were many new pieces of technology changing the game completely. And yet, I feel like we’ve reached a whole nother level with flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). I’m sure you saw at least one clip featuring this type of combat on the battlefields of Ukraine. Just this morning, footage showing two Russian soldiers trying to outmaneuver two drones appeared on my feed. And it was terrifying.
However, to some, this will seem like a great thing. You can get rid of the enemy from the safety of your bunker. Moreover, the enemy will usually see you coming at the last second. Probably the last second of his life. To shake things up, I also want to mention the American Dream. If you’re an average guy looking for a way out, the army seems like a logical choice. There are many downsides and issues with this choice but our Major Thomas Egan seems to be living the dream. He has a nice house in the suburbs, a beautiful wife and family, and a cool car. He also doesn’t have to risk his life, the commute to “work” is fast and easy and everything seems to be working out. And yet, he feels like he’s in hell.
Everything I’ve been talking about up until now is optional. You don’t have to obsess over these things or over-analyze the situation. You can just sit and watch this intelligent and gripping movie. It is that good. Finally, if you’re looking for similar movies, you can actually start with Land of Bad featuring a different kind of drone operator. If you’re looking for something more like Good Kill, Jarhead, The Hurt Locker, and especially Eye in the Sky are good choices. I’ll throw in Camp X-Ray, just for good measure considering that Guantanamo is still up and running.
Director: Andrew Niccol
Writer: Andrew Niccol
Cast: Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoë Kravitz, Bruce Greenwood, Jake Abel, Michael Sheets
Fun Facts: Scenes taking place in Afghanistan and Yemen were actually filmed in Morrocco. The production took even advantage of the sets used in Ridley Scott’s historic epic Kingdom of Heaven.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3297330/
