Best Films About Drone Warfare. In this series of articles covering war films, we’ll be looking at the best films that cover everything from the evolution of tank warfare in World War I and World War II to the adoption of combat drones and special forces in Modern Warfare. We’ll select films that have a specific and detailed focus on various technological advances in war and their use in battle by military forces.
In this second article, we’ll be focusing on drone warfare in film. The use of military drones has increased over the last two decades as both a means for intelligence gathering and for the elimination of specialized targets. As a result, many recent films of the war subgenre have focused on the devastation wrought by drones to the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by drone operators.
While this article will highlight drone warfare, other areas of warfare in film will be covered in future articles listed below:
- Best Films About Tank Warfare
- Best Films About Drone Warfare
- Best Films About Special Forces
- Best Films About Sea Warfare
- Best Films About Air Warfare
For our rankings we’re going to use some criteria to help define and refine our list. First, we’re going to focus on films that show the destructive nature of drones. Many films will often show drones or even satellites in use for surveillance, but those films tend to be about spies and espionage. We want to narrow down the use of drones for military operations for this list.
Second, we’re going to select and rank films based on the realistic uses of drones. This means we’ll have to be very selective when it comes to sci-fi representations of drones. Films such as Kill Command (2015) and Outside the Wire (2021) will make our list while other films like Iron Man 2 (2010) and Oblivion (2013) will not.
Third, the more a film shows drone operators and focuses on the moral implications of a drone strike, the higher it will rank on our list.
And fourth, we had to follow our rule for all of KBZ’s film listings where we only list films that have a 4.0/10 or higher rating and were released after 1970.
Though we have not yet segmented Films About Drone Warfare into its own subgenre collection, you can find most of these films in our various collections of Sci-Fi Military Films, War Films About Air Warfare and War Films About Special Forces. And as a reminder, subscribe to our newsletter to get updated as we release future articles in this special edition series of warfare films.
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Best Films About Drone Warfare
Honorable Mentions: Syriana (2005), Iron Man 2 (2010), Oblivion (2013), Drones (2013) and American Ultra (2015).
Special Mention: The Drone (2019). If you’re looking for a bit of a comedy involving drones, The Drone isn’t a great film but is a somewhat funny Horror Comedy and Slasher Film involving a drone that meshes with the mind of a serial killer. We only recommend it for completists who want to see every film about drones.
#10
Angel Has Fallen
Plot: After a treacherous attack, Secret Service agent Mike Banning is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trumbull. Chased by his own colleagues and the FBI, Banning begins a race against the clock to clear his name.
KBZ’s Take: The Has Fallen film franchise is basically a political action thriller version of Die Hard (1988) with Gerard Butler’s Secret Service Agent, Mike Bannon, taking the place of John McClain – an action role immortalized by Bruce Willis.
Though the first two films, Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and London Has Fallen (2016), feature heavy military action but hardly any drone warfare, it’s third entry features one of the best mass drone attacks seen on film. It’s a sequence that shouldn’t be missed by fans of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: New CIA operative Aaron Cross experiences life-or-death stakes that have been triggered by the previous actions of Jason Bourne.
KBZ’s Take: The Bourne franchise does fall into the Spies & Espionage film subgenre that we’re not focused on for this article. However, the fourth entry in the series, The Bourne Legacy, features a well-choreographed drone attack sequence in its first act that’s action-packed and filled with suspense.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#8
Stealth
Plot: Deeply ensconced in a top-secret military program, three pilots struggle to bring an artificial intelligence program under control…before it initiates the next world war.
KBZ’s Take: Stealth isn’t typically a film you think of for drone warfare and the film was bashed by both critics and moviegoers alike. However, we have a soft spot for the film as though it is essentially a Film About AI, it’s also a precursor of sorts to drone warfare we see in film today and the rise of eventual autonomous drones we’ll see in films about AI-based drones gone rogue.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#7
Drone
Plot: Neil is a high-level private drone contractor who spends his workdays flying covert missions then returns to a family life of suburban mediocrity. Not even Neil’s wife or his son know about his secret life. But Neil’s juggling act of husband, father and armchair warrior comes to a crashing halt when a whistle-blowing site exposes him to a deadly threat. Believing Neil is responsible for the deaths of his wife and child, an enigmatic Pakistani businessman tracks him down.
KBZ’s Take: We mentioned earlier that we’re going to rank films on a curve that focus on drone operators and the dilemmas they face before unleashing hellfire in a war. Drone is not a great film by any means but does take a different approach to a popular theme of the subgenre by showing the other side of war – a victim’s revenge.
Sean Bean, as usual, is great in the film as the father who is hiding his real life from his family, but the star of the film is Patrick Sabongui who gives an emotional and understated performance as a man’s entire life ruined by the impact of a drone.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#6
Body of Lies
Plot: CIA agent Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) hatches a bold but dangerous plan to capture terrorist Al-Saleem. With the help of Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) who is a master of subterfuge, Ferris creates a fake terrorist organization to prompt Al-Saleem out of hiding. At the same time, Ferris must keep his plan secret from Hani (Mark Strong), the head of Jordanian intelligence, because Ferris will lose his own life if Hani finds out.
KBZ’s Take: Another film on our list that is more of a Spies & Espionage action thriller but is one of the best of the subgenre. While the film is short on actual drone warfare, there is one sequence in the film involving drones that’s rarely covered by other similar films – how targets of drones have learned to combat the ‘eye in the sky’ with increasingly creative measures.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: In the near future, a drone pilot is sent into a deadly militarized zone and must work with an android officer to locate a doomsday device.
KBZ’s Take: Unlike Iron Man 2 (2010) and Oblivion (2013) which feature futuristic drones and didn’t make our list, Outside the Wire features a more realistic near-future version of current drone warfare and as a result, is listed here.
We’re not going to say this is a better film than the aforementioned films above, but it does have a compelling drone operator sequence in its first act and a tense final act featuring an impending drone attack.
Where to Stream / Buy: Netflix
#4
Kill Command
Plot: Set in a near future, technology-reliant society that pits man against killing machines. Against this backdrop an elite army unit is helicoptered to a remote, off-the-grid island training facility. What starts out as a simple training exercise for Captain Bukes and his tight-knit unit, descends into a terrifying battle to the death, as the marines discover the island is overrun by an enemy that transcends the human concept of evil.
KBZ’s Take: Most of the films listed in this article deal with aerial drones and this is another sci-fi based film we decided to list because of its focus on an autonomous robotic drone. There’s not much of a plot to this film other than your typical “the hunters become the hunted” storyline with a twist – artificial intelligence that adapts.
The S.A.R. unit has a cool design and it’s one of the better lesser-known films about “robots gone bad”. It’s worth watching by fans of the subgenre to see how early trends towards autonomous drones will become more prevalent in (and inspire) drone warfare films over the next decade.
Additional Lists: Top Sci-Fi Military Films You Haven’t Seen #7
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#3
Good Kill
Plot: In the shadowy world of drone warfare, combat unfolds like a video game – only with real lives at stake. After six tours of duty, Air Force pilot Tom Egan now fights the Taliban from an air-conditioned bunker in the Nevada desert. But as he yearns to get back in the cockpit of a real plane and becomes increasingly troubled by the collateral damage he causes each time he pushes a button, Egan’s nerves and his relationship with his wife begin to unravel.
KBZ’s Take: Two films in 2015 had similar themes of drone warfare with a focus on actual drone operations. Eye in the Sky (2015) focused on the political ramifications of a drone strike while Good Kill focused more on the dissolving mental and emotional state of a drone operator as his ‘missions’ increasingly target innocent civilians as collateral damage.
If you’re a fan of The Deer Hunter (1978), American Sniper (2014) and other war films that explore the psychological impact of warfare, add Good Kill now to the top of your queue.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#2
Land of Bad
Plot: When a Delta Force team is ambushed in enemy territory, a rookie officer refuses to abandon them. Their only hope lies with an Air Force drone pilot as the eyes in the sky during a brutal 48-hour battle for survival.
KBZ’s Take: Our favorite action-packed film about drone warfare on this list, Land of Bad is one of the best films of the subgenre showing the reliance on (and camaraderie between) a drone operator and troops in the field. It also helps that this film has some great performances from Russell Crowe as drone operator Captain Eddie Grimm and Liam Hemsworth as Sergeant JJ Kinney who has to rely on Captain Grimm’s drone for survival.
The film is a bit predictable (as most war films are) but is elevated by some intense action sequences and some rarely seen tactics and maneuvers of drone warfare. Highly recommended film of the subgenre especially if you like other modern warfare films such as Black Hawk Down (2001), 13 Hours (2016) and 12 Strong (2018).
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: 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.
KBZ’s Take: We mentioned Eye in the Sky earlier when discussing Good Kill (2015). While Good Kill focuses on the psychological impacts of drone warfare, Eye in the Sky focuses both on the political ramifications of ordering a drone strike and the collateral damage assessments that take place that could impact civilian lives.
As a political thriller, the film excels with an amazing multinational cast including Hellen Mirren, the late Alan Rickman, Aaron Paul, Barkhad Abdi and others. The film focuses on the various military and political roles involved in a drone strike and the ultimate accountability for who is actually ordering the strike (and will take blame for any eventual fallout).
As a drone warfare film, it’s a very emotional and tense film as drone operator Steve Watts (Paul) struggles with his orders based on what he’s seeing on the ground and the innocent lives that would be impacted once he pulls the trigger.
There’s no better film than Eye in the Sky that covers multiple facets of drone warfare and for that reason alone, it’s our top selection of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
