Eye in the Sky is (unintentionally) a film about law’s profound inhumanity. (*Moderate spoilers to follow, proceed with caution.) Colonel Katherine Powell (Hellen Mirren) commands from the UK a mission to capture a number of high-ranking Al-Shabaab militants in Kenya.

Amongst them there are two British citizens, but one of them is somehow ‘special’: she is a white, beautiful young woman with a ‘troubled’ childhood, who converted to Islam and was radicalised through her husband. At a certain level, Eye in the Sky is about killing a white woman in a headscarf.

As is the case with young women who choose to join ISIS the female jihadist is the object of fear, anger and wonder for the western imaginary. The contrast becomes even more obvious given that it is another woman, portrayed by Hellen Mirren, who assumes the most proactive role in chasing her down.

Katherine Powell, a military officer in command of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. Sees her mission escalate when a girl enters the kill zone triggering an international dispute over the implications of modern warfare.

Genre: War, Thriller, Drama
Stars: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman
Runtime: 102mins