[yasr_overall_rating]
A family man begins to question the ethics of his job as a drone pilot.
Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke carries the burden of this film on his shoulders in more ways than one. Emotionally distraught after being reassigned to “the box,” Major Thomas Egan (Ethan Hawke) fights an intense internal battle while coherently waging hand-held war against the Taliban. When his wife Molly (January Jones), and Air Force buddies fail at getting him to lighten up, he turns to alcohol and rebellion in order to appease his ego. Unable to accept the fact that he has to send drones out from a small room in Vegas in order to prey on the enemy in Afghanistan, he builds a foundation of resentment that eventually causes him to abandon his family and career.
Lt. Col. Jack Johns (Bruce Greenwood) has the unenviable position of trying to lead this group of untamed infantrymen who must coordinate their efforts in order to have a “good kill.” When the coordination of a successful permission to prosecute as determined by the CIA becomes a conflict for “the box,” Lt. Col. Johns must also convince them that drone warfare is a necessary evil as no one will ever stop killing as long as one soldier’s life is at risk. When Major Egan takes matters into his own hands and deliberately drops a target, he must be disciplined in order to keep all hell from breaking loose. Fed up with all the politics, Egan comes up with his own plan to escape the madness.
With prior sci-fi and war film experience (“Gattaca” and “Lord of War”) under his belt, Director Andrew Niccol has made an impressive set incorporating 21st century X-Box skills into practical drone warfare. The pairing of diverse characters including Airman Vera Suarez (Zoe Kravitz) as the voice of reason and Capt. Ed Christie with an air of entitlement, makes for interesting dialogue that expresses a normal conflict of interest amongst individuals who are supposedly working towards the same goal. The shift tradeoffs within “the box “ perfectly mimic the changing of the guard in realistic physical combat and the CIA intervention reminds us that Big Brother is always watching and usually has an agenda. The film is both entertaining and practical in that it exposes the true impact of war on and off the battlefield and further enlightens us about the use of drones and the human factors that contribute to its successes and failures.
In select theaters and at the Look Cinemas in Dallas May 22nd
