Thriller Eagle Eye

D.J. Caruso’s action thriller gets off to a promising start by piling on the action and suspense, and obliterating a target of ‘obvious’ baddies of Islamic appearance — blatantly calling into question the accuracy and efficiency of the US military machine in recent real-life conflicts. It then injects confusion and paranoia as to what’s going on, and builds on the curiosity as to how its main character, Jerry Shaw, played by action-man-of-the-moment Shia LaBeouf, is related to the whole event. In fact, the first half-an-hour gets the blood pumping as the faceless mobile voice commands the players and the real threat to them is still left unclear. If you suspend all disbelief and just watch this film for its ‘fear of technology and intelligence gathering’ value, then you’ll enjoy its fast-paced style and its characters’ relentless pursuit for answers, and revel in being swept along on the journey. If you start to think about the ‘reality’ of the situation and the technicalities behind it, it will fall short at the first hurdle.

Although (love him, or hate him) LaBeouf is being pushed as the latest, greatest thing by the Hollywood elite, which can grate at times, admittedly, he is quite likeable as Shaw. Equally so, is Michelle Monaghan as Rachel Holloman, a desperate mother searching for her son who is also a pawn in the sinister game like Shaw. Thankfully, Monaghan delivers a better performance that her rather bland affair in Gone Baby Gone — even if there is barely little for her to really sink her teeth into with this part. You’ve got to like the leads — and you do, willing them along on their solution to the terrifying problem at hand, like saviours of mankind against the rage of the machine.

The real problem is the lack of originality in the script, which is shocking, considering four screen writers penned. It’s a game of ‘spot the film rip-off’, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Matrix, Enemy of the State and Die Hard 4.0. That said, if you are a fan of these films, you may enjoy what’s cobbled together, but it’s not necessarily homage to the formers’ best bits. Yet again, as in Transformers, LaBeouf is in a film that’s huge on action but blurs all the effects so you are left watching a whirl of colour and noise, rather than an awesome, detailed spectacle of bits and bobs crashing, flying and bouncing around on screen. It’s also nostalgic to see HAL (albeit a modern-day relative) alive and well. It’s the super-brained computer parts of the story that transform it from a relatively plausible thriller to sci-fi silliness at times. Remember what we say about suspending all belief and logical reason, and just be prepared to be entertained (for a whole number of reasons), especially as there’s a good cast to boot that includes Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Chiklis and Rosario Dawson as various ‘government’ types. We wonder whether the filmmakers/studio actually had another ending lying on the cutting-room floor as it would have made more sense — but been totally ‘un-Hollywood’ — for Shaw to meet his maker at the end, rather than the ridiculous, schmaltzy farce and clichéd lines that we are left with.

Big Brother becomes twisted Big Sister in this noise-n-action fest that grabs the attention and inflates society’s ever-increasing paranoia of technology overkill — just don’t think too hard about exactly what you are watching and this will be a fun ride if you go in thinking more generic action flick that intelligent thriller.

By Lisa Keddie

Synopsis

A race-against-time thriller starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawsonn, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton. Two unsuspecting Americans are separately drawn into a conspiracy by a mysterious woman they have never met, but who seems to know their every move. By the time they discover her frightening identity, they have become her unwitting accomplices in a diabolical assassination plot.

Film Facts

Official UK site: http://www.eagleeyemovie.com/intl/uk/

UK release date: 17th October 2008

Director: D.J. Caruso

Writers: John Glenn, Travis Wright

Cast: Shia LaBeouf (’Jerry Shaw’), Michelle Monaghan (’Rachel Holloman’), Rosario Dawson (’Zoe Perez’), Michael Chiklis (’Defence Secretary Callister’), Anthony Mackie (’Major William Bowman’), Billy Bob Thornton (’Agent Thomas Morgan’)

UK Distributor: Paramount Pictures UK

Certificate: 12A

Run-time: 118 mins

Trailer: