Years ago I remember reading a book on medieval history where the invention of the crossbow and the accuracy that it gave archers made one critic cry 'the valor of man is at end'. In the words of Al Jolson he hadn't seen anything yet, most prominently nuclear bombs.
Good Kill is a film that talks about the morality of using drones, but a lot of people seem to miss the point. Man is no longer part of the wonder of flight, that which made people like Charles Lindbergh cross the ocean, made air aces out of Eddie Rickenbacker and Baron Von Richtofen, made Chuck Yeager set speed records. Air war in movies when we entered the jet age was William Holden in The Bridges At Toko-Ri, Alan Ladd in The McConnell Story or even in Top Gun where Tom Cruise and his mates were training and matching their skills against each other.
At one time Ethan Hawke was one of those Top Guns probably enlisted during the 90s and saw real combat with real people shooting back at him. Now he wages war from the suburbs of Las Vegas in a quonset hut type shack directing pilotless drones. His skills as a pilot no longer needed. If Tom Cruise's Pete Mitchell aka Maverick was still in the Navy he too might be facing such a challenge. You can just as easily launch a drone from the deck of the USS Nimitz.
Hawke wants to get to flying again use the skills he's acquired. But in what could be the dawn of a new age he's become obsolete. War is about to become the province of video gamers and the violence rained down is real and coldly impersonal. Not even directed by the men trained to fight, but policy analysts of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia.
Hawke's issues are putting a strain on his marriage to January Jones who understandably likes having her husband home every evening. I remember a film called Sabre Jet where it showed the Air Force in its first war in Korea flying missions in Korea during the day and heading home to the base in Japan. There the wives were worried that their men might not come back, here no such worry.
Hawke also finds a kindred spirit in Zoe Kravitz who questions not just the morality of the whole idea but the fact that just as women are gaining equality in skill she's also not being needed.
For humankind what will it all mean? I guess we'll all be going deep underground in the future as drones become more readily available. Were we meant to live that way?
Good Kill is thought provoking picture about the future of something we hope doesn't have a future, war. Now is the time to bless those peacemakers.
Good Kill is a film that talks about the morality of using drones, but a lot of people seem to miss the point. Man is no longer part of the wonder of flight, that which made people like Charles Lindbergh cross the ocean, made air aces out of Eddie Rickenbacker and Baron Von Richtofen, made Chuck Yeager set speed records. Air war in movies when we entered the jet age was William Holden in The Bridges At Toko-Ri, Alan Ladd in The McConnell Story or even in Top Gun where Tom Cruise and his mates were training and matching their skills against each other.
At one time Ethan Hawke was one of those Top Guns probably enlisted during the 90s and saw real combat with real people shooting back at him. Now he wages war from the suburbs of Las Vegas in a quonset hut type shack directing pilotless drones. His skills as a pilot no longer needed. If Tom Cruise's Pete Mitchell aka Maverick was still in the Navy he too might be facing such a challenge. You can just as easily launch a drone from the deck of the USS Nimitz.
Hawke wants to get to flying again use the skills he's acquired. But in what could be the dawn of a new age he's become obsolete. War is about to become the province of video gamers and the violence rained down is real and coldly impersonal. Not even directed by the men trained to fight, but policy analysts of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia.
Hawke's issues are putting a strain on his marriage to January Jones who understandably likes having her husband home every evening. I remember a film called Sabre Jet where it showed the Air Force in its first war in Korea flying missions in Korea during the day and heading home to the base in Japan. There the wives were worried that their men might not come back, here no such worry.
Hawke also finds a kindred spirit in Zoe Kravitz who questions not just the morality of the whole idea but the fact that just as women are gaining equality in skill she's also not being needed.
For humankind what will it all mean? I guess we'll all be going deep underground in the future as drones become more readily available. Were we meant to live that way?
Good Kill is thought provoking picture about the future of something we hope doesn't have a future, war. Now is the time to bless those peacemakers.