List of films featuring drones

There is a body of films featuring drones (unmanned aerial vehicles). The Hollywood Reporter wrote in 2016, "There has been no shortage of films dealing with drones over the last few years... audiences have recently had the occasion to explore a form of modern warfare whose true repercussions are yet to be fully understood, let alone divulged to the general public."^[1]

List of films

Film	Year	Description
American Ultra	2015	The stoner comedy film features an exaggerated Central Intelligence Agency that carries out drone strikes on American shopping malls.[2]
Back to the Future Part II	1989	In the science fiction film, a future timeline depicts a news outlet drone videotaping the arrest of a criminal.[3]
Blair Witch	2016	The main characters in this horror film bring a drone-mounted camera into the woods with them.[4]
Body of Lies	2008	The spy film features extensive use of drone surveillance.[5]
Bourne Legacy, TheThe Bourne Legacy	2012	Aaron Cross, an agent of a Central Intelligence Agency program living in the woods, is targeted in a U.S. drone strike.[6][7]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier	2014	In the superhero film, a government program called Project Insight creates three Helicarriers that have the capability of killing autonomously.[8][9][7]
Captain Phillips	2013	In the thriller film based on a true story, a Boeing Insitu ScanEagle is used by the United States Navy to monitor the situation involving a hijacked ship.[10]
Chappie	2015	In the science fiction film, a villain deploys drones to track down and attack the protagonist.[11]
Dirty Wars	2013	The documentary investigates targeted killings carried out by the United States government, including those executed by drones.[12]
Divergent Series: Allegiant, TheThe Divergent Series: Allegiant	2016	The dystopian film features miniature drones that obey finger commands.[13][14]
Drone	2014	The documentary explores the use of drones in warfare.[15][16]
Drones	2013	Two United States Air Force personnel wrestle with executing a drone strike on an apparent terrorist at the cost of civilian lives.[17]
Eagle Eye	2008	In the thriller film, a Predator drone is flown into a Washington, DC tunnel to kill the film's protagonist.[18]
Elysium	2013	In the science fiction film, a sleeper agent deploys drones to track down and attack the protagonist.[19]
Eye in the Sky	2015	The film features drones operated by the U.S. and British governments that fire Hellfire missiles and insect-/bird-sized drones that infiltrate terrorist compounds.[9][16][20]
Force Majeure	2014	In the Swedish film, a family of four on a ski trip bring with them a toy drone. In a dramatic scene, the drone's appearance invokes a comical feeling to break the heavy social pressure of the scene.[21]
Four Lions	2010	In the black comedy film, a terrorist at a suicide bomber training camp attempts to shoot down a drone with a rocket launcher but has it backwards and instead kills his fellow terrorists.[22]
From the Sky	2014	In the short film, an Arab father and son travel through a region frequently targeted in drone strikes.[23]
Full Contact	2015	A French drone pilot flies drones in the Middle East from Nevada in the United States. He carries out a drone strike on a building to kill a terrorist inside, but he discovers afterward that the building was a school for boys.[24][16]
Furious 7	2015	In the film's climax, the protagonists drive through the streets of Los Angeles to evade a weaponized drone.[25]
Giver, TheThe Giver	2014	In the dystopian film, drones monitor citizens and inform them of rule-breaking.[26]
Good Kill	2014	A United States Air Force pilot, participating in the Central Intelligence Agency's drone program in the war in Afghanistan, struggles with the ethics of attacking targets from afar.[9][16][20]
Hummingbird	2013	A former Special Forces officer, struggling for redemption, is paranoid about having been watched by drones ("hummingbirds") in his Afghanistan operations as well as his life on the streets in London.[27]
Inferno	2016	In a scene from the thriller film, a symbology professor and his sidekick evade a drone hunting them in Florence's Boboli Gardens.[28]
London Fields	2015	The drama film, with a nonlinear narrative, features a military drone as part of intercut scenes.[29]
London Has Fallen	2016	The action film begins with a drone strike targeting a terrorist but only killing his family, leading him to seek revenge.[30]
Interstellar	2014	At the beginning of the science fiction film, the protagonist tracks down and commandeers a renegade drone formerly belonging to the Indian Air Force.[31]
Iron Man 2	2010	During the superhero film, the villain Justin Hammer builds weaponized humanoid drones based on Iron Man's suit technology.[32]
Interview, TheThe Interview	2014	In the comedy film, a drone delivers a replacement strip of poison to Kim Jong-un's fortress for the protagonists to use to kill him.[33]
Mission: Impossible III	2006	In the spy film, a convoy traveling across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is targeted by a drone.[34]
Mohajer	1990	A man who controls small airplanes to detect Iraq's front line is put in danger not being able to return.[35][36]
National Bird	2016	In the documentary film, three whistleblowers warn about the consequences of military drone strikes.[37]
Oblivion	2013	In the science fiction film, drones monitor a ruined Earth in 2077.[38]
Other Side, TheThe Other Side	2012	The short film depicts a child who experiences drone attacks in Pakistan by the United States government and consequently joins a terrorist group.[39]
Poltergeist	2015	In the horror film, a toy drone plays a key role in the climax.[40]
Purge: Election Year, TheThe Purge: Election Year	2016	The horror film features drone warfare.[41]
RoboCop	2014	In the science fiction film, the beginning depicts drones used as part of a U.S. military operation to subjugate a Middle Eastern country.[7]
Rotor DR1	2015	In the science fiction film, a young man in a post-apocalyptic world attempts to track down his father, traveling under a sky populated with autonomous drones.[42]
Skyline	2010	In the science fiction film, Predator drones are deployed with stealth bombers to fight an aerial battle with enemy aliens.[43]
Spymasters, TheThe Spymasters	2015	In the documentary film, Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency are interviewed about the agency's approach to terrorism, including the use of drone strikes.[44]
Stealth	2005	In the action film, an unmanned air combat vehicle developed by the United States military is taken over by a built-in artificial intelligence, and three Navy pilots work together to stop the vehicle.[45]
Sleep Dealer	2008	In the science fiction film, the setting is a near-future dystopia where the water supply is privately controlled by corporations and warfare is waged with drones. The inclusion of drones was inspired by the 1997 science fiction novel Forever Peace.[46]
Syriana	2005	In the geopolitical thriller, a Predator drone is used by the Central Intelligence Agency to assassinate an emirate's foreign minister.[20]
This Means War	2012	In the romantic comedy film, two Central Intelligence Agency men compete over a woman, and one agent shoots down a surveillance drone the other agent deployed to spy on him.[47]
Transformers: Age of Extinction	2014	In the action film based on the robot toy line, miniature drones are featured as part of the group of villains.[48]
Unmanned: America's Drone Wars	2013	The documentary film investigates the impact of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan and elsewhere.[49]
X-Men: Days of Future Past	2014	In the superhero film, the future timeline features airborne killer robots called Sentinels that hunt down and kill mutants.[7]

References

1. Mintzer, Jordan (February 14, 2016). "'National Bird': Berlin Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
2. Lunegaard, Erik (August 20, 2015). "'American Ultra': Jesse Eisenberg lights up this tale". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
3. Robehmed, Natalie (October 21, 2015). "Five Things 'Back To The Future Part II' Got Right About 2015 Technology". Forbes. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
4. Jenkins, Mark (September 15, 2016). "Blair Witch is the most disappointing horror movie of the year". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
5. Thompson, Patricia (October 2008). "Middle East Intrigue". American Cinematographer. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
6. Corliss, Richard (August 9, 2012). "The Bourne Legacy: Spy vs. Drones — Which Is Which?". Time. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
7. Romano, Andrew (May 23, 2014). "Hollywood's War on Drones". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
8. Suebsaeng, Asawin (April 4, 2014). "'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' Is About Obama's Terror-Suspect Kill List, Say the Film's Directors". Mother Jones. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
9. McClintock, Pamela; Anderson, Ariston (September 5, 2014). "Toronto: First Controversial Drone Movie Strikes, Questions U.S. Policy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
10. Robbins, Gary (October 22, 2013). "Spy drone subtly stars in 'Captain Phillips'". U-T San Diego. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
11. Kilkenny, Katie (September 9, 2015). "Humans Are Terrible in Chappie, and That's the Point". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
12. Egner, Jeremy (June 6, 2013). "His Target Is Assassinations". The New York Times. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
13. Turan, Kenneth (March 17, 2016). "Review: The confusing latest 'Divergent' installment 'Allegiant' is strictly for devoted fans". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
14. Mintzer, Jordan (March 5, 2016). "'The Divergent Series: Allegiant': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
15. Keslassy, Elsa (January 30, 2014). "LevelK Unleashes 'Drone' At Goteborg". Variety. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
16. Knight, Chris (November 19, 2015). "Drone review: Hope gets grounded". National Post. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
17. Harvey, Dennis (June 26, 2014). "Film Review: 'Drones'". Variety. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
18. Tucker, Neely (September 26, 2008). "'Eagle Eye': Zooming In on Too Many Explosions". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
19. Evans, Claire L. (August 14, 2013). "Big Smart Objects: Drone Culture and Elysium". Grantland. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
20. Siegel, Robert (December 6, 2005). "Ex-CIA Agent Robert Baer, Inspiration for 'Syriana'". npr.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
21. Lattanzio, Ryan (January 2, 2015). "Ruben Östlund on Directing and Messing with Gender Roles in 'Force Majeure'". Thompson on Hollywood. Indiewire. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
22. Prigge, Matt (April 27, 2013). "That hilarious British comedy about terrorists targeting a marathon". metro.us. Metro International. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
23. Pathan, Nabila (October 17, 2014). "Peace or PTSD in the Middle East? U.S. drone drama to hit Vimeo". english.alarabiya.net. Al Arabiya. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
24. Ford, Rebecca (September 13, 2015). "TIFF: Drone Pic 'Full Contact' Looks at Cost of War". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
25. Lambie, Ryan (April 10, 2015). "Andrew Niccol Interview: Good Kill, Drones, Lord Of War". Den of Geek!. DoGTech. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
26. DeFore, John (August 11, 2014). "'The Giver': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
27. Debruge, Peter (June 20, 2013). "Film Review: 'Redemption'". Variety. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
28. Collins, Katie (October 26, 2016). "'Inferno' director Ron Howard talks drones, Dante, Dan Brown". CNET. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
29. Cieply, Michael (September 15, 2015). "'London Fields' Premiere in Toronto Troubled by Creative Rift". The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
30. Barnes, Henry (April 14, 2016). "Kill shots: why cinema has drone warfare in its sights". The Guardian. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
31. Anthikad-Chhibber, Mini (November 9, 2014). "Reaching for the stars". The Hindu. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
32. Capps, Robert (May 6, 2010). "Review: Fun Iron Man 2 Pits Witty Hero Against Juicy Villains". Wired. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
33. Rich, Katey; Hoffman, Jordan (December 17, 2014). "The 10 Best Things You Won't Get to See in The Interview". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
34. Staff. "The 'Mission: Impossible' Films – Part 3". filmsite.org. AMC Networks. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
35. Gault, Matthew (17 September 2014). "I Got My Hands on a Bootleg of Iran's Weird Drone Movie". medium.com. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
36. "Mohajer UAV". The Arkenstone - ارکنستون - Technical, Geospatial, and Organizational Analysis of the Iranian Armed Forces. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
37. Roddy, Michael (February 13, 2016). "Berlin film 'National Bird' gives whistleblower view of drones". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
38. Corliss, Richard (April 19, 2013). "Tom Cruise in Oblivion: Drones and Clones on Planet Earth". Time. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
39. Mahmood, Rafay (May 17, 2012). "The Other Side: Shooting drones". Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
40. Trendacosta, Katharine (May 29, 2015). "The New Poltergeist Has One Redeeming Feature: It's Only 90 Minutes Long". io9. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
41. Chang, Justin (June 30, 2016). "Review: Pulp gets political, and messy, in 'The Purge: Election Year'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
42. Pick, Rachel (October 16, 2015). "A Group of Drone Enthusiasts Made a Sci-Fi Film About How Great Drones Are". Motherboard. Vice. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
43. Ditzian, Eric (November 12, 2010). "'Skyline': The Early Reviews Are In". MTV News. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
44. Mazzetti, Mark (November 27, 2015). "Review: In 'The Spymasters,' C.I.A. Leaders Recount Tactics of the Post-9/11 Years". The New York Times. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
45. Staff (July 29, 2005). "The Science of Stealth". Popular Science. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
46. Miranda, Carolina A. (August 2, 2014). "'Border drones and labor-bots: Alex Rivera's prescient 'Sleep Dealer'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
47. Rozen, Leah (February 17, 2012). "'This Means War': Is Tom Hardy Leading Man Material?". bbcamerica.com. BBC America. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
48. Scioli, Tom (June 30, 2014). "Plot Is Overrated: Scioli On 'Transformers: Age of Extinction'". Comics Alliance. ScreenCrush Network. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
49. Brown, David W. (August 5, 2013). "Interview: Robert Greenwald's war on drones". The Week. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

External links

• 'Eye in the Sky': How Drones Are Changing War Movies at The Wall Street Journal (subscription required)