Good Kill (9/1/2015)

Rated R for violent content including a rape, language, and some sexuality.

Starring Ethan Hawke, Zoe Kravitz, January Jones, Jake Abel and Bruce Greenwood

Directed by Andrew Niccol (The Host, In Time, Lord of War and Gattaca)

Good Kill feels more a like a rebuttal to American Sniper than a stand alone film.

In the shadowy world of drone warfare, combat unfolds like a video game–only with real lives at stake. After six tours of duty, Air Force pilot Tom Egan (Ethan Hawke) now fights the Taliban from an air-conditioned bunker in the Nevada desert. But as he yearns to get back in the cockpit of a real plane and becomes increasingly troubled by the collateral damage he causes each time he pushes a button, Egan’s nerves—and his relationship with his wife (Mad Men’s January Jones)—begin to unravel. Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, Lord of War) directs this riveting insider’s view of 21st-century warfare, in which operatives fight unseen enemies from half a world away.

I tend to stay away from political films or films that “preach” at the audience and Good Kill is heavy on the preaching. With the drone debate alive and well Andrew Niccol is dishing out some pretty strong messages. The film begins with the words, “based on a true story,” but it’s hard to know exactly what that means. Is this one drone pilot’s story? Are we regularly bombing innocent children?

Zoë Kravitz and Bruce Greenwood play the role of the “good guys” and help feed the thoughts of injustice. Along with January Jones they try to evoke our sympathies for Tom Egan. But comparing the U.S. military to terrorists was more liberal propaganda than I cared for.

In the film we are asked to be outraged by drone strikes on “innocent” people and at the same time excuse our hero’s excessive drinking, drunk driving and spousal abuse, not to mention his blatant insubordination.

I believe Good Kill’s heart is in the right place (although I disagreed with it), but things get really messy in a later scene. The message is that bombing non-targets is totally okay if the non-targets are terrible people. Can you say inconsistent?

I didn’t care for it, I wish I had the chance to “Skip It.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
From a distance, we see a man rapes a woman (both of them are clothed) but it’s disturbing. We also see a couple having sex although the woman is dressed, it is clear they are having sex. There is also a scene in a strip club that features women in bikinis dancing on the bar.

There is a lot of violence. We see missiles blow up people and bodies are shown being carried and dragged afterwards from a distance.

There are several F words and other profanity.

CONVERSATION STARTER:

1. What is Tom’s crisis of conscience in the film?


2. When was the last time you faced a crisis of conscience? What happened?

Read the following Bible passages:

James 4:17
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.



3. How do these verses help us live out our faith?