‘Good Kill’ Trailer: Ethan Hawke Flies a Drone, Feels Really Bad About It

If there’s one thing the ‘Good Kill’ trailer has going for it, it’s relevancy. Filmmakers have been telling stories about U.S. military actions in Afghanistan for a decade now, but this seems to be the first somewhat major movie to tackle the subject of drones, a topic that has started its fair share of controversy in the media and arguments around dinner tables. Even if it had nothing else going for it, this is a film that is very much of the moment.

But this is a movie that actually has a quite bit going for it! It stars Ethan Hawke, the always dependable actor who is probably going to get another Oscar nomination in a few weeks. It co-stars Bruce Greenwood, a character actor who was born to play slightly grizzled military commanders. It's directed by Andrew Niccol, a filmmaker whose reach is interesting often enough that it's easy to forgive him when when his execution falls short.

(It also stars January Jones, but c’mon, no one’s perfect.)

Anyway, the trailer itself hits all the beats you’d expect. Hawke plays a former pilot who now flies drones from the safety of American soil, launching missiles at terrorists by day and sleeping in a warm, safe house with his family at night. But killing people with a video game isn’t something that rests easy on the conscience and Hawke starts to lose his grip on his seemingly stable life. Standard stuff for sure, but standard stuff that could have the ring of truth if delivered properly.

Or it could be a preachy mess. Who knows with Niccol? How can we predict anything about the guy who made ‘Gattaca’ and ‘S1m0ne’? Here’s the official synopsis:

A fighter-pilot turned drone-pilot, based in Las Vegas, fights the Taliban by remote control for twelve hours a day, then goes home to the suburbs and feuds with his wife and kids for the other twelve. But the pilot is starting to question the mission. Is he creating more terrorists than he’s killing? Is he fighting a war without end? One soldier’s tale with epic implications.

‘Good Kill’ made the festival rounds last year, but it still doesn’t have a confirmed North American release date. However, its April 10 release in England suggests that we will probably be able to see it before the year is over.