A film that has absolutely nothing to do with The Alan Parsons Project's psych-rock LP of the same name, Eye In The Sky tackles the topical and morally thorny terrain of modern drone warfare. The film has a new poster, top-lined by Helen Mirren, to show its stuff and Empire has it to debut below.
Mirren plays Colonel Katherine Powell, a no-nonsense military type responsible for bringing terror threats to heel, usually via the medium of Hellfire missiles. Here, though, the predicament is more complex. Britain’s government wants one its radicalised citizens, Aisha Al Hady (Lex King), captured; the woman herself is on the verge of committing an atrocity. To kill or not to kill? The decision-makers swiftly change their minds and issue the order to fire.
Meanwhile, in Nevada the drone operator (Aaron Paul) notices an unwitting player in the drama: a young girl wandering unawares into the kill zone. Jack Bauer he ain’t, and debate soon rages about what to do next.
Ender’s Game director Gavin Hood is behind this tech warfare morality play. It’s been in development since 2011 when Downfall’s Oliver Hirschbiegel was linked with it, but its arrival on screens looks more timely than ever.
With Alan Rickman and Captain Phillips' Oscar-nominee Barkhad Abdi also appearing, Eye In The Sky opens in the UK on April 8.