As the title suggests, sight and perspective are important aspects of “Eye in the Sky.” As military generals question their next moves during an operation in Kenya, they have high-tech equipment at their fingertips, but these luxuries don’t make their jobs any easier.

Gavin Hood’s “Eye in the Sky” is about a drone mission to capture extremists and the network of people behind the operation. Helen Mirren plays Col. Katherine Powell, a woman who wants more than anything to capture the extremists. She is in England, but she and her team are able to see what is happening in the house where the extremists are gathered from the point of view of the drone over the house. The movie emphasizes the use of cameras; we often see the inside of the house through the perspective of a mechanical beetle with a camera that Jama Farah (Barkhad Abdi) controls. Throughout the mission, Powell communicates with Lt. Gen. Frank Benson (Alan Rickman) about how to proceed.

The characters have to sift through numerous questions before they act. They discover the people in the house are planning a suicide mission and consequently believe their best response is striking the house instead of capturing the extremists. One of the extremists is a British citizen, however, causing the team to hesitate and ask what authority they have to do this. This hesitation would seem annoying, but the setbacks add to the almost unbearable suspense.

The main roadblock is a young girl named Alia (Aisha Takow) who sets up a table right outside the home to sell bread. Striking the house would endanger her life. “Eye in the Sky” makes sure we care about this kid. We see her throughout the movie hula hooping, doing her homework, and just being cute. The movie shows how important she is, not because she’s an official person with a fancy title, but because she simply deserves to have the best quality of life she can. Of course we don’t want her to die in the mission, even if the mission prevents a suicide bombing. Everyone ponders what they should do about her, and meanwhile, the extremists get closer and closer to carrying out their suicide mission.

Rickman’s Benson is a seasoned, level-headed general, but not reckless or indecisive. Contrasting with that, it was hard to really like Mirren’s character. Then again, Powell has bigger things to worry about than being likable. She is impatient, but who can blame her? She’s been tracking these extremists for a long time, and she finally has a chance to take them out. A common question is whether it is worth the deaths of multiple people to save one girl. We see that this question is particularly hard when you’re the one who makes the choice.

Aaron Paul plays the lieutenant who ultimately will or will not pull the trigger, so to speak. His proximity to the situation makes him care more about little Alia’s well-being than his counterparts, or at least he shows it more. Paul’s performance is nuanced. For most of the movie he is seated, waiting for orders and seeing the drone’s view of the house from above. Still, through his face alone we can tell he really doesn’t want to cause Alia’s death.

“Eye in the Sky” is stressful to watch, but it’s a necessary kind of stress. It might not be the definitive way to educate yourself about 21st-century war, but you’ll come away with a better understanding of just how warfare, technology and morality intersect.

**MOVE gives “Eye in the Sky” 3.5 out of 5 stars.**

_Edited by Katie Rosso | krosso@themaneater.com_