Suspenseful melodrama about a joint U.S.-British drone mission to take down the key leaders of an Islamic terrorist group in Kenya. The movie is well-produced, well-acted and entertaining, and it’s believable within the constraints of the universe that it presents. But it still lacks a certain feel of realism. If you know anything about drone missions, you know that there are a lot of civilian casualties connected with them, and therein lies the controversy surrounding that type of warfare. So it’s hard to believe that the powers that be would spend two hours debating on whether to engage drone-guided missiles at the very moment of the mission. I get it, the moviemakers use the debate to make the characters voice the different views on drone warfare. But that kind of hesitation and arguing back and forth during a drone mission feels contrived and implausible. That’s what most of the movie consists of: “To shoot or not to shoot.” Although the movie doesn’t feel too long, I could have watched all that in 30 minutes. Indeed, it would have been a better film if it had cut out most of that debate and then left the civilian point of view that the movie includes. It’s actually the time spent with the native African characters that makes this a better movie; to understand a dilemma, it’s important to be able to see things from the point of view of those most affected. And watching the high-tech doodads in action, like a flying, miniature spy-camera beetle drone, brings out the inner geek in those of us who have one. An interesting movie that deserves points for debating drone warfare but doesn’t do much more than that.

Not For Kids

Extra:

• The trailer has spoilers, so don’t watch it.