Good Kill

I was expecting more of an Action movie, but I should have known with Ethan Hawke, ;like the king of the low budget, indies was in it. Action films are not his thing. I liked it a lot, but it’s really grim when feeding you a lot to think about.

Hawke plays a seasoned Air Force pilot who gets grounded by the increased use of drones in the war on terror. You would think being able to serve his country safely from an office in Las Vegas and go home to his beautiful wife (played by January Jones), and kids would be ideal, as it saves American lives,but the problem is that you can’t ground an airman, and the concept of making combat no different than playing Call of Duty, spins him into a nasty spiral of heavy drinking, with the thoughts of taking out terrorist and those that surround them especially, as easily as a child takes out king koopa in Mario Bros.

The movie is grim. Its so balanced in the whole politics of drone combat that no one’s point shines out more than the other, which is very sad. If it was a documentary, it would be the best ever made. As a narrative, the filmmaker does an amazing job of not really taking sides, which makes you feel even more for the lead character whose deep in the conflict of doing his duty, which leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

I like Ethan Hawke, not sure if I like him in the role. The character is very well done as well as the picture, but there moments I did not see the despair in Ethan. Might be because even though it’s not the action flick I thought it was, I think he played it like an action hero, just a little too Top Gun.

Zoe Kravitz has a supporting role in the movie. I thought she was good as the outspoken left wing rookie of the group, speaking on everything that’s wrong with drone combat. Maybe very sexist of me to point out how the young woman is the one against it in a room full of men, or is it just sexiest that she had to play that part. Despite this it was a great role for her

This is definitely a film and not a movie about drone combat. Bruce Greenwood, who plays a captain sums it up in a speech he gives to a group of solders who look like kids about this being just like a video game that takes real lives. Something like that can get into even the strongest willed minds and the movie gives insight on that which I found entertaining, but may not be for everyone.