Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

reader-e This film raises thought provoking questions about the intersection of technology, morality and war. It deals with several different moral issues. The story line is that there are two people assigned to man a drone spy plane and they have to decide whether the person arriving at the site they are spying on is correctly identified as the Al-Qaeda terrorist they think he is, and they have to decide whether or not they should take him out if it involves killing other people including children. They are also aware of how the attack will be reported and spun (i.e. the other people will be considered as conspirators, even though clearly that isn't the case.) There are issues involving the idea of the ends justifying the means, as well as the psychological issues including the effects of these decisions on the people manning the drones. It also raises questions related to the use of drones and privacy and the fact that drones provide a way to look into every corner of the world, including ones normally considered private. It makes a great movie to use as a springboard for discussions.

Mousekill I'm guessing the folks that made this movie are impressed with themselves for having the nerve to deal with such a timely and deep moral issue. Should they take the shot? The writers created a very provocative scenario that forces the choice of killing non-combatants along with the terrorist or letting the terrorist go. A long debate ensues where the characters agonize over whether to take the shot. The story's scenario is fantasy, the actions of the crew are inexcusable, and the "dilemma" faced by the crew isn't new or timely.1. The scenario where they have to shoot because the relief aircraft was diverted is unlikely at best. They are flying in a combat zone. The diverted aircraft is the only asset available in the entire area? There are no ground units, manned aircraft or unmanned aircraft from other serves available to delay the shot until the target is clear of non-combatants? If the target is that important, they would have found something somewhere to provide coverage.2. Members of the armed services usually do not have the luxury to debate the morals of lawful orders, and they are never given the option to ignore them. The chain of command would never have tolerated a junior officer and an enlisted airman ignoring orders for that long. If they were feeling generous, I guess they may have allowed one "I can't do it" but the idea of senior officers trying to reason and begging for a lieutenant and an enlisted airman to act is fantasy. This would be especially true with a high value asset like the unmanned systems. The security forces would have quickly appeared to provide a replacement crew.Military members are not given the option to ignore lawful orders. They are often not provided with why orders are given, and this still doesn't allow them to ignore the order. Requiring the chain of command to provided detailed explanations for every order would be ungainly and pointless. Sometimes obeying an order is a bit of an act of faith that the chain has access to information on which it is basing the order.3. The "dilemma" faced by the unmanned aircraft crew is not new. War is violent, destructive and weapons often hit noncombatant targets. Aerial bombing and artillery are obvious examples. It mystifies me why so many have the impression that flying a plane remotely somehow changes the dynamics of the process. Bomber pilots didn't ride their bombs to the targets, they lined a building up in a site and pushed a button. Artillery crews set angles to their guns, set the fuse, add that charge and yank a lanyard. As for the watching a target die, infantryman and snipers have been doing it for centuries.In the unlikely scenario presented in the movie, would the scenario have been less of dilemma if the unmanned aircraft hadn't been able to take the shot and something more conventional had been used to kill the terrorist? Would artillery or missile fired from a manned aircraft have resulted in fewer deaths? Or if an infantry unit had been used, would the terrorist have surrendered simply because he was near children? What if the terrorist was still killed, but managed to kill an U.S. soldier or two? Or what if he had been allowed to escape because he was near non-combatants. Would the morality of refraining from the shot justly any US soldiers or other local non-combatants he later killed? Even in the movies' unlikely and unpleasant scenario, the unmanned aircraft allowed the threat to be eliminated without exposing friendly forces to danger.War always poses many moral questions to our nation, our government and our armed forces and these questions should be asked and explored. This movie makes up an irrelevant and unlikely situation, deals with it in a completely implausible way, and the only moral dilemma it creates is why the characters were allowed to behave badly for as long as they did.

russmillerwy-957-682439 This modern military drama reminded me of By Dawn's Early Light and Lebanon. In all three, we watch a military crew in charge of a combat vehicle who have some serious decisions to make based on limited evidence. The consequences for not using deadly force could be just as disastrous as using it, to potential casualties and also to the careers and even the freedom of the actors involved. In all 3 films, we are limited to only seeing and knowing what the people in the bomber, the tank, or in this case the drone control shed can see and hear. The atmosphere becomes ever more intense as the consequences of their choices become less and less possible to avoid. There are some technical shortcomings to the film, such as background music that often overpowers the actors' voices. I was still quite impressed with the plausibility of the situation, even if the exact circumstances of the setting are an extreme example of brinkmanship and interpersonal conflict that could most likely only appear in a script. The dialog is authentic enough to pass muster. There are no obvious plot holes, and both characters seem to be trying their very best to do the right thing ethically while considering the awful, irreversibly life altering consequences of being wrong. Worth seeing and worth thinking about, because war is always messy and soldiers will always have to make life and death decisions based on disturbingly incomplete knowledge.

captaincastile Not too many movies really make me think. This one did.I don't know what motivated the people that made this film, but their work stuck me much deeper than I expected.The main characters are two soldiers in a military installation where they are assigned to man a drone spy plane. They are searching for the "enemy" and when they find one the drone is equipped with weapons to "take them out." That's their job; find 'em and kill 'em. All with the push of a button.Causing collateral damage (killing innocent civilians) is supposed to be just another part of the job. After all, the good outweighs the bad because the people they kill, will themselves kill even more innocents - think 911 - if they're not stopped.This is a new form of warfare. In the "old days" you just dropped a bomb from the sky and never saw the people you incinerated. But now, super high definition cameras display the faces of the people you are about to turn into human hamburger on your computer monitor; up close and personal.The drone team think they have spotted a super enemy. A high ranking member of the Al-Qaeda that is a must kill. There's only one problem: there are a house full of innocents at the same location. This includes women and children; even a baby.Conscience begins to surface. Do they kill a dozen innocents to get this one enemy, or not? Think about what you know of Nazi soldiers who explained their actions by saying they were "just following orders."The find and kill operation takes two people to complete. One cannot fire the kill shot without the other being in compliance. Listen to the kill or don't kill conversation between our two soldiers. Ask yourself the same questions that they ask. What would you do?Don't get me wrong. I support the military. I am grateful for the men and women that have made the decision to; if necessary, lay down their lives to defend and protect this country. That means your life, my life, and the lives of all the people we know and love. Many heroic men and women have already laid down their lives in the service of their country. They deserve to be honored, they deserve our respect, they deserve our gratitude. They have mine.But this film raises moral questions about how we fight Al-Qaeda that did not exist when we fought our enemies of the past. Push button warfare. How much "collateral damage" is acceptable? Is it acceptable at all? Is there a point of depreciating returns where we become as bad; or even worse than our enemies? Take a look at the IMDb listing of the "stars" of this film. See who is ranked first, second and third. There is a reason for it.