I've enjoyed this director’s previous work; he writes his own screenplays, and each one has been distinct with a certain ingenuity in how the stories are told. This is the first film of his that didn’t resonate with me, though. It felt very much like 'Eye in the Sky', but released earlier, and it suffered from an overextended plot. The narrative follows Thomas, a pilot operating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from an air base in Las Vegas while engaged in combat missions in the Middle East. Each day he spends bombing suspected terrorists becomes increasingly troubling when civilian casualties occur. Simultaneously, his inability to manage his family life alongside his professional anxieties creates further problems, and that’s essentially what the rest of the movie is about. I believe a heavy-handed attempt at sentimentality ultimately undermined what could have been a strong film. The emotional elements work well within the context of war themes, but here they distort the portrayal of fighting terrorist organizations. Presenting a combat officer as sympathetic feels like a vulnerability from a soldier's point of view. It all comes down to the writing; when making a modern war movie, this kind of storyline inevitably generates negative feelings from those who are patriotic. It’s challenging to craft a compelling story when the central characters aren't physically present on the battlefield. Because there were no scenes of soldiers being injured in direct fire, they opted for emotional explorations instead. The only parts that truly affected me involved the instances of sexual abuse and how those situations were subsequently addressed. There are talented actors and solid direction, but a flawed story and a lack of suspenseful moments make it merely passable. 5/10

Source on TMDB