Eye in the Sky

95%

Tomatometer

221 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

A lieutenant general (Alan Rickman) and a colonel (Helen Mirren) face political opposition after ordering a drone missile strike to take out a group of suicide bombers in Nairobi, Kenya.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Where to Watch

What to Know

Critics Consensus

As taut as it is timely, Eye in the Sky offers a powerfully acted -- and unusually cerebral -- spin on the modern wartime political thriller.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (221) Critics Reviews

Raphael Abraham

Financial Times

Director Gavin Hood works the tension and the moral uncertainty to good effect but at times the film feels schematic and too much like revision.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 27, 2016

Full Review

Dwight Brown

National Newspaper Publishers Association

It's hard to watch the film and not vacillate between wanting them to act, and wanting them to stand down.

Nov 8, 2016

Full Review

Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Hood and Hibbert's procedural is a crackerjack affair in all the ways that count, and it's safe to say it looks at this hot button issue in a way certain to get audiences talking afterward.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 11, 2016

Full Review

Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

“Eye in the Sky” is well-intentioned, but boring AF and probably would make a better television series than film because then the characters could be three-dimensional instead of archetypes.

Jun 9, 2024

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Considers a much larger canvas than the warfare itself, from the politicians approving drone missions to the undercover agents on the ground scouting them.

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 18, 2022

Full Review

Nikki Baughan

AWFJ.org

Combining tense action with an exploration of the psychological demands, and impact, of modern drone warfare, Eye in the Sky also demonstrates that strong female characters can command the genre as resoundingly as their male counterparts.

Sep 29, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews

BalMur D For those that say this movie was boring and/or stupid, I get it, this movie isn't for you. You like the action packed, blowing crap up everywhere type of movies. Go back to Marvel then.This started out with me thinking, "he the dude from Breaking Bad, Helen Marrin and Alan Rickman, that's cool. Then I realized what type of movie this is. It takes you through the mind and thought processes of what all of the different parts of a drone strike must go through. It helps you feel what it is like having to make a real world decision of "the many are worth more than the few" and the people actually doing the dirty work of "the one is greater than the many".It is a drama/suspense that makes you think about your beliefs and how far you would go to protect them.Great film in my opinion. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/12/24 Full Review Stephen J Dumb. The plot makes no sense, the drone operators job makes no sense, the plot, writing and acting was all terrible. How did this get such good reviews????????? Sooooooo bad. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 09/27/24 Full Review terry m The drone operators were a joke. Totally unbelievable. Rated 1.5/5 Stars • Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/23/24 Full Review Audience Member This movie should have been titled "Saving the girl selling bread", because that is the main plot. The 2 people in charge of firing the drone would never have those jobs because they cannot conduct the mission. They are like newbies taken off the street, who have no place in a killing job. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/09/24 Full Review Ant D Wow, intense and emotional movie. Also, it didn't feel like 1.75 hours! It felt way longer. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/28/24 Full Review D H Yikes! I'm giving three stars just for Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman involvement. But even they can't save this talking-head snoozefest full of lukewarm claptrap plot cringe where nothing happens. Minus two stars for RT glitching and disappearing my initial review. Shame. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 03/21/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Eye in the Sky

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Gavin Hood Director Helen Mirren Colonel Katherine Powell Aaron Paul Steve Watts Alan Rickman Lieutenant General Frank Benson Barkhad Abdi Jama Farah Iain Glen Foreign Secretary James Willett

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home

Boys of Abu Ghraib 30% 60% Boys of Abu Ghraib Watchlist 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi 51% 83% 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Watchlist TRAILER for 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Zero Dark Thirty 91% 80% Zero Dark Thirty Watchlist TRAILER for Zero Dark Thirty Brothers 63% 62% Brothers Watchlist Official Secrets 82% 89% Official Secrets Watchlist TRAILER for Official Secrets Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related Movie News

View All Related Movie News

New on Netflix in May 2022 Rank Helen Mirren’s 10 Best Movies London Critics: La La Land Is Named Film of the Year

Videos

View All videos

Eye in the Sky

Eye in the Sky: North American Trailer

2:30

View more videos

Photos

View All Eye in the Sky photos

Eye in the Sky

Eye in the Sky (2015)

View more photos

Synopsis A lieutenant general (Alan Rickman) and a colonel (Helen Mirren) face political opposition after ordering a drone missile strike to take out a group of suicide bombers in Nairobi, Kenya.

Director: Gavin Hood
Producer: David Lancaster, Colin Firth, Ged Doherty
Screenwriter: Guy Hibbert
Distributor: Bleecker Street Media
Production Co: Entertainment One, Raindog Films
Rating: R (Some Violent Images|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 1, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 4, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $18.7M
Runtime: 1h 42m