Eye in the Sky Blu-ray offers solid video and great audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
Colonel Katherine Powell, commander of a top secret drone operation, discovers that terrorists are planning a suicide bombing. As American pilot Steve Watts is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute.
For more about Eye in the Sky and the Eye in the Sky Blu-ray release, see Eye in the Sky Blu-ray Review published by Martin Liebman on June 28, 2016 where this Blu-ray release scored 3.0 out of 5.
Warfare in the post 9/11 world has largely shifted away from the more traditional army-versus-army confrontations of the past to a different, but no
less dangerous, asymmetrical style of warfare, pitting advanced national militaries against less sophisticated, less organized, and less technologically
advanced militants
whose M.O. is the quick strike, often against soft civilian targets, rather than the large clash on the field of battle. Just on the very day this review
was published, a terror attack rocked Turkey's Istanbul Ataturk Airport, killing dozens and injuring many more. It's symbolic of the new world of
warfare that's at the heart of Eye in the Sky, Director Gavin Hood's (Ender's Game) cutting-edge film that not only explores the real time,
globally stretched, and multinational cooperative undertaking that is the war on terror but also the ethical dilemmas that come with it, that evolve
from the rapid advances in technology that, even for those large standing armies, make warfare far less intimate, but no less personal. How does
pulling the trigger alter the lives of all involved, on both sides of the attack, and on those innocently caught in the middle?
The eye, and missiles, in the sky.
A joint British-U.S.-Kenyan operation is underway to pinpoint the location of a wanted terrorist working out of Kenya. It's a snatch-and-grab
mission, supported by both an observer on the ground named Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi) and a U.S.-based drone pilot named Steve Watts (Aaron
Paul) providing real-time aerial reconnaissance from half a world away. Heading the mission is British Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Miren) and
Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman). When Farah's
intelligence gathering operation reveals suicide vests and explosives in the surveyed home and the high value target is located inside -- along with
a wanted British national who has shifted her allegiance to the Al-Shabaab terrorist network -- Powell deems the mission parameters changed and
seeks authority up the chain of command to instead fire one of the drone's two hellfire missiles into the home, killing the terrorists and foiling what
is certain to be a deadly terror attack. Before the missile can be launched, however, a young Kenyan girl named Alia (Aisha Takow) sets up shop in
front of the target building, peddling homemade bread to locals. She's within the blast radius and certain to be a casualty in the attack. The drone
pilot, the
commanding officers, politicians, and bureaucrats must weigh the cost of killing innocents in the strike in order to save many more from future
terror plots being organized right in their crosshairs.
Eye in the Sky released not too distant from Good Kill, another film that similarly explores the moral, ethical, and
personal reactions to, and responsibilities of, modern drone warfare. Eye in the Sky offers a somewhat broader and multinational viewpoint
but is
in many ways the same core movie covering the same core principles. That the two films released in such close proximity and share such a deep
fundamental purpose only underscores the importance of understanding how the modern world, with its technological advances so rapid, clashes
with
the largely stagnant human condition that values compassion and intimacy, even when the greater world sometimes challenges one's ability
to
tightly adhere those fundamental emotions. Eye in the Sky doesn't necessarily explore with any greater depth than its counterpart, but it
does
a fine job of building the larger narrative that clashes with the immediacy of modern warfare, the evolving field of battle, political considerations,
personal values, and the greater ethical dilemmas that hang over every decision. The film weighs intimate, up-close-and-personal pros and cons
that were heretofore unheard of, that come with the ability execute warfare like a video game but without the safety in the knowledge that the
deaths that result are merely digital sprites in a make-believe world rather flesh and blood.
However, Eye in the Sky doesn't explore with much gusto. The movie is unremarkably bland, ethically challenging and mentally
stimulating, yes,
but a film that's stylistically diluted to the point that it becomes a minor chore to watch. That certainly allows Director Gavin Hood to keep the
focus squarely on the people and the questions and challenges that arise, but there's no mistaking the movie's staleness and lack of engagement
beyond its core. The sets are terribly spartan, again underscoring the cold and distant nature of drone warfare, allowing the humanity of the
players to fill in the blanks. Still, the film suffers from a sense of emptiness, playing out like a hurriedly constructed stage production that has
assembled a fantastic core but only the bare essentials around it to sell the audience on the illusion and maintain a laser-like focus on story rather
than production design. The performances are a little empty, too. There's emotion, but not passion. There's humanity, but not well rounded
human beings. The film employs two of the best in Helen Miren and the late Alan Rickman and surrounds them with top-grade talent like Aaron
Paul and Barkhad Abdi, but they don't always channel the deepest core human depths one would expect of a picture of this dramatic significance,
instead more
delivering lines than feeling them, grasping the gravity of what they're doing but not the deeply personal underpinnings that drive the narrative.
Eye in the Sky's 1080p transfer, sourced from a digital shoot, rarely, if ever, excites the visual senses. It's stable in its relative blandness, its
digital sheen and glossy finish never accentuating the earthy Kenyan landscape or, really, even the cold, spartan command center set pieces. Surfaces
never stretch the format's potential. Heavy fabric military uniforms are unfortunately flat. Faces aren't revealing beyond core basics. Instrument
clusters lack intimate definition. Kenyan terrain is a little more capable, if only for its more naturally complex variables, but even still the image never
brings out the best. Colors are fine, though the relative dearth of eye popping shades never allows the image to dazzle. A few primaries pop down on
the ground in Kenya, particularly against the sandy, earthy terrain. The cold military interiors lack pizzaz, revealing the steely blues and grays and
military fatigue greens only well enough. Black levels are fine, with only a trace, nearly imperceptible, push to purple. Light aliasing is evident in
spots,
particularly on some of the more noticeably low end visual effects shots. Flesh tones appear fairly neutral under the movie's rather diverse locations
and lighting conditions.
Eye in the Sky's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack doesn't stretch the sound system, but it's technically sound and offers some
enticing sound design elements on a few occasions. Music is healthy if not heavy along the fronts, producing solid enough instrumental clarity
throughout the film. Ambient effects are nicely filing, including light background din at an airport, a crackling fire heard in the rears, and winds
pushing through. A few sound elements really impress. Gunfire tears through the rears in a few shots with positive authority and detail. In the film's
brief China scene, ping pong balls bounce around the stage with awe-inspiring realism. The sense of total immersion and maneuvering is fantastic,
making for one of the most purely interesting, and perfectly recreated, sound experiences in recent memory. The film is primarily dialogue intensive,
however, and the spoken word plays with positive command of the center channel, natural clarity, and constant prioritization over other surrounding
sound elements.
Eye in the Sky contains two featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.
Perspectives (1080p, 1:22): A quick look at the movie's story, themes, and characters.
Morals (1080p, 1:31): Cast and crew offer a few thoughts on the complex morals the film explores. Various pieces, particularly clips
from the film, repeat from the previous supplement.
Eye in the Sky takes a similar path through modern warfare and the human condition as did Good Kill, but this film lacks the spark of
the other. Eye is a rather dry and stale production, soaring to be sure in terms of depth but failing to find the support pieces necessary to
keep it of interest beyond its engaging core. Good Kill is the full package and, of the two recent "ethical dilemma/drone" movies, the one to
watch. Universal's release of Eye in the Sky is just as spartan and bland as the movie. Video is passable, audio is technically sound and
enjoys a few very good moments, and
the supplements are hugely disappointing. Rent it.
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Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced that it will reelase on Blu-ray director Gavin Hood's new film Eye in the Sky (2015), starring Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, and Alan Rickman. The release will be available for purchase on June 28.
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