Eye in the Sky

"Welcome to the new front line"

2015 1h 42m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1,804

DramaThrillerWar

Synopsis

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A UK-based military officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya discovers the targets are planning a suicide bombing and the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill.” As American pilot Steve Watts is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute reaching the highest levels of US and British government over the moral, political, and personal implications of modern warfare.

“Welcome to the new front line”

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Cast

Helen Mirren
Colonel Katherine Powell
Aaron Paul
Steve Watts
Alan Rickman
Lieutenant General Frank Benson
Barkhad Abdi
Jama Farah
Jeremy Northam
Brian Woodale
Phoebe Fox
Carrie Gershon
Armaan Haggio
Musa Mo'Allim
Aisha Takow
Alia Mo'Allim

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gavin Hood
Writers: Guy Hibbert
Languages: Somali, English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Somali, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gavin Hood, shot by Haris Zambarloukos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Paul Hepker. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Megan Gill shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul and Alan Rickman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Welcome to the new front line".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt2057392 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gavin Hood directs. Haris Zambarloukos behind the camera. Paul Hepker scores. Megan Gill cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in Somali, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 11 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Somali, English.
3Directed by Gavin Hood, shot by Haris Zambarloukos. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Paul Hepker. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Megan Gill shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul and Alan Rickman carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Welcome to the new front line".
8IMDB entry: tt2057392 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Haris Zambarloukos
Original score: Paul Hepker
Editing: Megan Gill
Production design: Johnny Breedt
Costume design: Ruy Filipe
Makeup / hair: Raine Rafter
VFX supervisor: Nikos Kalaitzidis
Sound: Adam Jenkins
Stunt coordinator: Darrell McLean
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $13,000,000
Box office: $18,704,595
Return: 144% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Eye in the Sky (2015)

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Gavin Hood

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-07-14
★ 8/10
The modern warfare, and its advantages as well as drawbacks. A new kind of war. When everyone is worried about robots might take over our jobs, it meant military as well. There was not robots in this, but a war fought from a safe distance and soldiers don't have to be physically trained so well, even the geeks with the gaming knowledge can take over. So a film about the modern warfare where the casualty rate is very minimum and can be accomplished before any major assault take place. From the South African director of 'Ender's Game' fame. This is slightly a similar theme, but a real world affair and a real time presentation. Initially I thought it was a remake of the Hong Kong film of the same name. We had seen drone attacks in the films, but they won't last for a few minutes. This film was entirely about how drone missions work that told with detail. "Never tell a soldier that he does not know the cost of war." This was a very good film and they must make a sequel to it. This film will get a special status going towards the future. There were no physically exceptional performances, the stars' presence and their verbal expressions were stronger. So there many thrilling scenes with great lines, especially Alan Rickman's final dialogue. This film was his final film and he was excellent like the usual. Even the Abdi's role was small, but powerful and so Helen Mirren's, but Aaron Paul and the rest were decent. The story was good, but I did not like the too much sentimentalised. Because all's fair in love and war. You won't make a film to please the terrorists and their sympathisers. Other than that it is a masterpiece. Surely worth a watch. 8/10
DanDare2018-03-07
★ 4/10
Eye in the Sky wants to explore the question of drone warfare. An operation to capture a terrorist cell in Kenya. Helen Mirren plays Colonel who is rather gung ho and wants to take out the bad guys before they do more harm. Aaron Paul is a drone pilot who is dithering because of the risk to civilian casualties. The film pursues the human touch of a young girl selling bread in the market place, being at the wrong place as that is where the drone aims to strike. Eye in the Sky is an oddly structured film, it is tense as the audience wonders of the little girl will be safe. It also wants to have an open and even debate on the morals and perils of drone warfare but it all feels rather undercooked and underwhelming. This was Alan Rickman's final film, he rightly has the last line: 'Never tell a soldier they don't know the cost of war.'
Jack2020-06-06
★ 9/10
I was looking for a film to watch. Being a big Helen Mirren fan, I decided to give this one a go. What a great choice it was! The fact that the entire film is in real time, meaning we watch the event as they unfold in real time, makes it a true edge-of-the-seat stuff. Acting was nothing to brag about but the story was great. As you watch it, you keep finding yourself arguing with yourself, trying to decide what you would actually do if you were one of the characters in the film. If you’re looking for something to watch and have access to this film, don’t even think for a second and press that play button. Would I watch it again? Yes! Would I make my friends watch it? Absolutely!