Good Kill 2014

     Air Force Major Thomas Egan is a former fighter pilot based in Las Vegas.  He operates a drone for 12 hours a day fighting against the Taliban.  He has asked to be transferred to a fighter pilot slot but that doesn’t seem to be happening.  Egan and some of the others involved with the drone operation are starting to question the collateral damage incurred with the drone strikes.  It’s one thing to take out the Taliban and other terrorists but what about the innocent bystanders in the strike zones?  This job is taking a toll on Egan’s daily work life and his home life with his family.

     I thought it was interesting to see inside the drone system.  This military area is explored in Eye in the Sky of 2015.  This film also involves a drone team based in Las Vegas.  The TV series Homeland has shown footage of drone strikes by the CIA.  There is a lot of moral gray area involved with the people ordering violence be committed, the people who commit the ordered violence and the people emotionally or physically affected by the violence.  How easy is it for someone sitting in an office in the United States to claim this person or this group has done things to deserve elimination?  How much actual proof is required?  They seem so removed from the actual act of the drone strike that it takes very little conscience to order the strike?  Sometimes damage is ordered to be verified and sometimes not?  Another item is the location of the drone operation stations in Las Vegas.  I don’t know if there is another city with a more unsustainable and gaudy just for the sake of it place to live?  Living in this type of city and in reality operating a type of video kill game that really kills could make anyone lose a grip on sanity!!  One definite advantage of the drone strikes is that American soldiers do not need to go into these locations and sacrifice their lives!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie  

102 min, Drama directed by Andrew Niccol with Ethan Hawke, January Jones, Zoe Kravitz, Bruce Greenwood, Jake Abel, Dylan Kenin.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, 75% critic 49% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, Amazon 3.4* out of 5* with 335 reviews, Metacritic 63 out of 100 with 33 critics 6.2 out of 10 with 45 reviews, Rolling Stone 3* out of 4*.

Special Note:  Filmed in New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada and Morocco.  Officers can resign in certain circumstances but enlisted personnel may choose not to re-enlist.  They can’t just walk away from their job.  Bruce Greenwood talks to new cadets about drone raids and his voice is used in the video game, Call of Duty: MW3.