Eye in the Sky

R

Released Apr 1, 2016

1h 42m

Mystery & Thriller

War

Drama

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95%

Tomatometer

223 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A lieutenant general (Alan Rickman) and a colonel (Helen Mirren) face political opposition after ordering a drone missile strike to take out a group of suicide bombers in Nairobi, Kenya.

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Critics Consensus

As taut as it is timely, Eye in the Sky offers a powerfully acted -- and unusually cerebral -- spin on the modern wartime political thriller.

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Raphael Abraham

Financial Times

Director Gavin Hood works the tension and the moral uncertainty to good effect but at times the film feels schematic and too much like revision.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 27, 2016

Full Review

Dwight Brown

National Newspaper Publishers Association

It's hard to watch the film and not vacillate between wanting them to act, and wanting them to stand down.

Nov 8, 2016

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Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Hood and Hibbert's procedural is a crackerjack affair in all the ways that count, and it's safe to say it looks at this hot button issue in a way certain to get audiences talking afterward.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 11, 2016

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Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

“Eye in the Sky” is well-intentioned, but boring AF and probably would make a better television series than film because then the characters could be three-dimensional instead of archetypes.

Jun 9, 2024

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Considers a much larger canvas than the warfare itself, from the politicians approving drone missions to the undercover agents on the ground scouting them.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 18, 2022

Full Review

Nikki Baughan

AWFJ.org

Combining tense action with an exploration of the psychological demands, and impact, of modern drone warfare, Eye in the Sky also demonstrates that strong female characters can command the genre as resoundingly as their male counterparts.

Sep 29, 2021

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Stephen J

Dumb. The plot makes no sense, the drone operators job makes no sense, the plot, writing and acting was all terrible. How did this get such good reviews????????? Sooooooo bad.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/27/24

Full Review

terry m

The drone operators were a joke. Totally unbelievable.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/23/24

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie should have been titled "Saving the girl selling bread", because that is the main plot. The 2 people in charge of firing the drone would never have those jobs because they cannot conduct the mission. They are like newbies taken off the street, who have no place in a killing job.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/09/24

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Ant D

Wow, intense and emotional movie. Also, it didn't feel like 1.75 hours! It felt way longer.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/28/24

Full Review

D H

Yikes! I'm giving three stars just for Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman involvement. But even they can't save this talking-head snoozefest full of lukewarm claptrap plot cringe where nothing happens. Minus two stars for RT glitching and disappearing my initial review. Shame.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/21/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Absolute waste of time and of the movie cast. Wow this was bad.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/04/24

Full Review

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Gavin Hood

Director

Helen Mirren

Colonel Katherine Powell

Aaron Paul

Steve Watts

Alan Rickman

Lieutenant General Frank Benson

Barkhad Abdi

Jama Farah

Iain Glen

Foreign Secretary James Willett

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Eye in the Sky: North American Trailer

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Synopsis

A lieutenant general (Alan Rickman) and a colonel (Helen Mirren) face political opposition after ordering a drone missile strike to take out a group of suicide bombers in Nairobi, Kenya.

Director: Gavin Hood
Producer: David Lancaster, Colin Firth, Ged Doherty
Screenwriter: Guy Hibbert
Distributor: Bleecker Street Media
Production Co: Entertainment One, Raindog Films
Rating: R (Some Violent Images|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 1, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 4, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $18.7M
Runtime: 1h 42m

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