Review: 'Eagle Eye' Slick, Exciting Thriller
Plot Implausible But Works On Many Levels
POSTED: 3:28 pm CDT September 25, 2008
UPDATED: 7:55 am CDT September 26, 2008
'Eagle Eye' (PG-13)
(out of four)Maybe it could happen to you: Your cell phone could ring one day and there could be a strange mechanical voice on the other end of the line directing you to do some sinister deed. She tells you that if you don't do it, your family may be harmed and your life may be at risk.So begins the twisted tale of "Eagle Eye," a political thriller about a copy boy at Copy Cabana (think Kinko's) and a single mom, who are thrust together by cyberterrorists. The terrorists have taken over a top-secret Department of Defense computer "brain" and are using it to seek revenge on the United States for the killings of Middle Eastern civilians mistaken for terrorist kingpins.Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan star as everyday Chicagoans Jerry Shaw and Rachel Holloman who are commandeered by an evil GPS-type voice. She shows up everywhere. She is able to not only track their every move, but take over traffic systems, automated cranes, Air Force cargo planes, and airport conveyor belts. LED signs on a billboard tell Jerry the next move to make thanks to direction from "the voice," NTSA computers are able to change the screens of the scanner so that a steel suitcase Jerry is told to smuggle goes undetected at the airport, and a stranger's cell phone becomes the pair's stronghold to life or maybe death.Why the pair is forced to become partners in crime is a bit far fetched. He is the twin brother of an Air Force Minuteman who happened to be working with the top secret project right before he was killed in a car accident. Rachel sent her son, Sam, off to Washington, D.C., with his trumpet to play in the school band for a special appearance at the Kennedy Center for the President of the United States, which figures into the sinister plot to kill top U.S. officials.This is one of those films, however, that doesn't need a plot to keep you glued to its every move. Each time the cell phone rings for another blandly delivered direction you'll feel yourself move just a little closer to the edge of the seat. Director D.J. Caruso (who directed LaBeouf in "Disturbia") ups the decibel level with some wild car chases where a Porsche Cayenne gets a workout and police cars tumble like rolled dice. For being regular people, LaBeouf and Monaghan are able to dodge bullets, hold up armored cars with assault rifles and consistently remain unscathed.Billy Bob Thornton borders on the annoying as an FBI investigator on Jerry's trail, but he's unbelievable, and is wearing so much pancake makeup he looks like he's ready for the circus rather than an action thriller. And Michael Chiklis gives a one-note "I look worried" performance throughout the movie as the Secretary of Defense who may be the only one spared as the sinister brain continues to slash its guillotine on top authorities.Based on the germ of an idea by Steven Spielberg eons ago, "Eagle Eye" never lets you forget that Big Brother is watching. Or shall we say Big Sister?
(out of four)Maybe it could happen to you: Your cell phone could ring one day and there could be a strange mechanical voice on the other end of the line directing you to do some sinister deed. She tells you that if you don't do it, your family may be harmed and your life may be at risk.So begins the twisted tale of "Eagle Eye," a political thriller about a copy boy at Copy Cabana (think Kinko's) and a single mom, who are thrust together by cyberterrorists. The terrorists have taken over a top-secret Department of Defense computer "brain" and are using it to seek revenge on the United States for the killings of Middle Eastern civilians mistaken for terrorist kingpins.Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan star as everyday Chicagoans Jerry Shaw and Rachel Holloman who are commandeered by an evil GPS-type voice. She shows up everywhere. She is able to not only track their every move, but take over traffic systems, automated cranes, Air Force cargo planes, and airport conveyor belts. LED signs on a billboard tell Jerry the next move to make thanks to direction from "the voice," NTSA computers are able to change the screens of the scanner so that a steel suitcase Jerry is told to smuggle goes undetected at the airport, and a stranger's cell phone becomes the pair's stronghold to life or maybe death.Why the pair is forced to become partners in crime is a bit far fetched. He is the twin brother of an Air Force Minuteman who happened to be working with the top secret project right before he was killed in a car accident. Rachel sent her son, Sam, off to Washington, D.C., with his trumpet to play in the school band for a special appearance at the Kennedy Center for the President of the United States, which figures into the sinister plot to kill top U.S. officials.This is one of those films, however, that doesn't need a plot to keep you glued to its every move. Each time the cell phone rings for another blandly delivered direction you'll feel yourself move just a little closer to the edge of the seat. Director D.J. Caruso (who directed LaBeouf in "Disturbia") ups the decibel level with some wild car chases where a Porsche Cayenne gets a workout and police cars tumble like rolled dice. For being regular people, LaBeouf and Monaghan are able to dodge bullets, hold up armored cars with assault rifles and consistently remain unscathed.Billy Bob Thornton borders on the annoying as an FBI investigator on Jerry's trail, but he's unbelievable, and is wearing so much pancake makeup he looks like he's ready for the circus rather than an action thriller. And Michael Chiklis gives a one-note "I look worried" performance throughout the movie as the Secretary of Defense who may be the only one spared as the sinister brain continues to slash its guillotine on top authorities.Based on the germ of an idea by Steven Spielberg eons ago, "Eagle Eye" never lets you forget that Big Brother is watching. Or shall we say Big Sister? Copyright 2009, Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
