Eye in the Sky

"In Eye in the Sky, we are asked to consider the moral choices that lead Western powers to blow the bejesus out of Islamic terrorists using unmanned planes, or drones. In a twist that allows Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman to appear in original English flavour, the drone attack here is a British-led one. The hardware is however all American, and is ‘piloted’ by Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman) from a storage unit in the Nevada desert."

"A rivetingly suspenseful drama that deftly intertwines elements of ticking-clock thriller and tragic farce."

"There's wit, integrity and insight here, but it cries out for a lighter touch."

"A tick-tock suspense exercise as well as a neat little ethical echo chamber, a plea for reason in a world exploding too vigorously to give it the time of day."

"A grim, suspenseful farce in which unpredictable human behavior repeatedly threatens an operation of astounding technological sophistication."

"Aims to thrill and covertly manages to inform simultaneously."

"A disturbing, intelligent and very well crafted contemporary thriller with a solid screenplay by Guy Hibbert and seamless direction."

"In the hands of gifted South African director Gavin Hood the film is a smart, graphic and disturbing thriller, with a clear eye for the fault lines of modern warfare."

"Satisfies fully on entertainment terms without cheapening its real-world concerns."

"You'll find an intelligent, well-rounded military drama, challenging both the efficiency and ethics of modern remote-controlled warfare."

"Sporadically sentimental, unrealistic, and overburdened with intrusive soundtrack music. But it gets you in, and it's suspenseful, claustrophobic, and a fairly unusual take on the counter-terrorism sub-genre."

"It’s the late Alan Rickman, as Mirren’s superior, who steals the film."