While the
beginning of the film feels like it's setting the audience up for a somewhat boring lesson on drone
warfare (I'm looking at you, Good Kill), Hood — still wiping the sting of X-Men Origins: Wolverine off with Ender's
Game and now this — excellently threads the needle of tension and, before you know it, the thriller aspect of the film becomes abundantly clear as the series of events play out in semi-real time over the course of one day.
Michael and his friends
begin the trek into the hand - to - hand combat
warfare game Devils of Destruction, but with the virtual death of his friends, Michael finds himself alone in his quest.