"Eye in the Sky" by Gavin Hood (2015)

First really good movie I saw in 2017 was something created just slightly earlier by South African director Gavin Hood, with the excellent list of great actors, but even more importantly the script and story are so gripping, just the way I like it. It is a kind of movie that hold you attention while simultaneously makes you think and question, which is really unusual nowadays and it kind of brings me back the faith in the movies, as I have already started believing that computer animation completely took over. There is actually computer animation somewhere in there, as very important part of the story involves drones and Hood couldn't use real ones but its all done cleverly and it doesn't take away from the story, in fact its really important part of it.

Helen Mirren (excellent as usual, she was the main reason why I saw this one) is UK military officer who follows several high-profile terrorists for many years and it seems that finally the right moment came, when few of them will be together in the same building in Kenya. Mirren is connected across the continents with other big names, it is a joint mission where governments, lawyers and ministers all work together while drones control everything what is happening around the house in Kenya. At the beginning its all about surveillance and possibility to arrest few terrorists, but situation changes drastically when it became obvious that people in the house are planning suicide bombing - suddenly the mission changes focus, because immediately its not about to catch but to kill and here is where complications arise. Because this is international operation, many different politicians, lawyers, governors and authorities around the world have to be consulted (to Mirren's biggest frustration) while the clock is ticking and on top of it all, there is a very big possibility that innocent people (who just happened to be too close to a targeted house) might be killed. Finally, the American pilot insist that impact of the explosion have to be checked again and again, to be sure that civilians won't be killed. 

It all turns into very intense, fascinating and topical theme as this is something we face today when wars are fought from the distance - drones are not some SF ideas but reality today and if inclined so, Helen Mirren can target your very own balcony from another part of the world. Than there is a question of collateral damage which in this movie is very cleverly presented: in order to stop bigger evil (suicide bombing that might result in mass killings somewhere else) there is a possibility that completely innocent victims might die from explosion. As much as this is horrifying and unforgettable, it perhaps still saves many other lives. Than again, its easy to say so in theory but any victim is somebody's child or family member. Because it combines excellent acting, interesting story and important moral issues, this is actually very unusually somber and interesting movie for adults. For once I am glad that I have checked something made recently. It is also a last movie by excellent Alan Rickman who might be known to millions because of his roles in Harry Potter but in fact he was far more important than that and will be greatly missed.