Good Kill

IFC Films | Release Date: May 15, 2015

6.1	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 62 Ratings

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LowbrowCinemaMay 22, 2015

GOOD KILL is a good attempt to deal with the complexity and ethics behind drone warfare. Director Andrew Niccol is back to more adult terrain after some pretty dreadful misfires but like all of his films, a great central conceit falls apartGOOD KILL is a good attempt to deal with the complexity and ethics behind drone warfare. Director Andrew Niccol is back to more adult terrain after some pretty dreadful misfires but like all of his films, a great central conceit falls apart by the third act. So you're left with very little about a very important topic. A total misfire.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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duncan1964Jun 29, 2015

Ethan Hawke is a drone pilot who starts to question the moral implications of his missions as he fights the Taliban under direct orders from the CIA. As the stakes are raised his professional loyalty is called into question and his home lifeEthan Hawke is a drone pilot who starts to question the moral implications of his missions as he fights the Taliban under direct orders from the CIA. As the stakes are raised his professional loyalty is called into question and his home life starts to fall apart. When its addressing US foreign policy and the questionable ethics of advanced military technology the film works very well, in part due to a tight script but mainly due to Hawke's haunted, committed performance. But when the film concentrates on his home life it fails to engage and takes on the tone of a soap opera making it harder to care about the story we are really interested in. A film of two halves , one of which is far superior to the other.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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Tss5078Jul 29, 2018

Major Tom Egan (Ethan Hawke) is a decorated Air-force pilot, who after five deployments, has been assigned to a base in Las Vegas, where he conducts drones strikes over Afghanistan. He hates his job and feels like a coward, but things get aMajor Tom Egan (Ethan Hawke) is a decorated Air-force pilot, who after five deployments, has been assigned to a base in Las Vegas, where he conducts drones strikes over Afghanistan. He hates his job and feels like a coward, but things get a whole lot worse, when the CIA commissions his team to start doing questionable jobs. Egan starts to come apart and take it out on his co-workers and family, leading to an uncertain future. IFC films are right at the top of my list right now as the absolute best in independent film. Seldom have they disappointed me, and I wouldn't describe my feelings about Good Kill as disappointed, but rather indifferent. This film, based on a true story, was exceptionally written and features a fantastic director and an amazing cast, but it also moves at a snails pace and is extremely repetitive. It's just drone strike, reaction, intervention, repeat, over and over again, followed by an ending that wasn't all that surprising. Ethan Hawke gives a powerful performance, despite the fact that he lacks the kind of emotion this role sorely needed. I understand that having Egan be this stone cold guy on the outside is a major theme, but it also makes for a lot of seemingly endless conversations and interactions. Good Kill has a lot of elements I look for in a movie, it's well written, has a cast I really enjoy, a director I know very well, still, it's lacking in emotion and levity. The film is monotonous and much longer than it had to be, all in all, not bad, but not great.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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LeZeeSep 9, 2016

A modern warfare and its effect on the family of a person who involved in it.

I like this director's films, because he writes the screenplay for all his films and each were so different with cleverness in narration. Sadly, this is theA modern warfare and its effect on the family of a person who involved in it.

I like this director's films, because he writes the screenplay for all his films and each were so different with cleverness in narration. Sadly, this is the first one I didn't like. It was very similar to the 'Eye in the Sky', but came before than that and with a stretched storyline. It centres on Thomas, a pilot for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) stationed at an air base in Las Vegas, but fighting combat in the middle-east. Every day he's bombing at the terrorist makes him quite uneasy when the innocents get killed. And on the other hand, failing to handle his family with his professional distress brings more complication and how it ends are the rest of the film.

In my view I think the overly sentimentalised great film concept destroyed it. The emotions work fine in the war themes, but here it gives a wrong idea over battle against the terror outfits. Because of a combat officer with the sympathetic mind, that considered as the weakness of a soldier. So it all begins with the writing, if one wants to make a war film, a modern warfare, relying on this kind of storyline brings only anti sentiments from the soldier's perspective and we the people who love our nation.

I understand when the main film characters are not physically present at the actual battleground, not easy to draw a good story out of it. And due to the complete absent of a soldier getting injured in a crossfire, they wend for different kind of emotional dealing. The only thing that made me sense was the sexual abuse parts and how it was taken care later. Good actors, good direction, but a weak story and shortfall of some good thrill moments makes it an average.

5/10… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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c700Sep 30, 2015

Intriguing concept but terribly boring execution.

First of all they only capture the american point of view, staring through their cameras. I consider it a missed opportunity to not colour it from the talibans side, of how terror onlyIntriguing concept but terribly boring execution.

First of all they only capture the american point of view, staring through their cameras. I consider it a missed opportunity to not colour it from the talibans side, of how terror only leads to more terror.

Second of all I really despise the casting choice. Mainly the protagonist only switches between cool silence and grumbly one-liners, which made me want to drill my earholes AND eyes out, because he can't act. I'm serious! He can't! A stone statue would have played the part better. After 50 minutes he laughs for the first time, and I was as surprised as you would be if a man with facial paralysis started moving his face. No kidding.

But the visuals of Afghanistan are nice enough I suppose, however interchanged with boring interiors 50/50.

I'm kinda sad, because it is a topic that a film is worthy capturing, but this film managed so poorly. There were so many missed opportunities, wrong design and character choices, that led to this unengaging plot. There was definitely potential. So overall, can't recommend.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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