It is the story of an Air Force pilot who is embarking on a new experience in his life as he begins to question the ethics of bombing Afghanistan. It appears that these bombs were dropped from the safety of its location in Las Vegas. This may create more terrorists than it kills and wages an endless war for everyone.
But the visuals pack a visceral punch. Every time Tom zeroes in on a target, every time he pushes that button, what we see on those monitors is brutally authentic.
AARP Movies for Grownups
April 11, 2016
Like many a previous Niccol work, Good Kill is a human drama about a man hurled into a technological future no one could anticipate: a world in which we humans have come up with yet another ingenious way to torment ourselves.
"Good Kill" wants to use the movies as a Trojan horse to confront us with our international sins. It's a worthy effort, even if it's not a very well-built horse.
This isn't science fiction-it claims to be "based on actual events"-but it feels like it, with its sealed, space capsule-like remote cockpits and disconnection from the field of battle...
Good Kill excels as a character study with Niccol's screenplay making Egan a fascinatingly conflicted and flawed individual and Ethan Hawke giving one of his best recent performances bringing the man to life.
