"Eagle Eye" is the kind of popcorn movie one would expect during the summer -- devoid of a believable plot, but full of pretty people, fancy cars and big explosions. Unfortunately, it is the end of September, and this blockbuster just fails to be anything other than lackluster.
Taking place in the not-so-distant future, the film shows a government that has allowed for an ever-increasing lack of privacy by listening in on people's cell phones. Every conversation and every movement can be tracked. It is a promising premise, but the film gets bogged down by implausible situations and predictable twists.
Slacker Jerry Shaw (played by Shia LaBeouf) is having a bad day. After returning from his twin brother's funeral, he finds a cache of explosives and weapons in his apartment. At the same time, Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) has sent her child off to Washington D.C. where he will be performing at the Kennedy Center. A mysterious female voice calls and tracks Shaw and Holloman. Under the threat of framing Shaw as a terrorist and killing Holloman's child, the voice uses these two strangers as pawns in a deadly plot to eliminate the executive branch.
The film starts out with a bang, making its ultimate demise into just another egregiously stupid action film all the more painful to watch. The theme of prioritizing security over privacy is interesting due to current political issues, but the execution of this story fails miserably. The lack of logic in most action films is understandable and generally easy to ignore, but in "Eagle Eye," the continual barrage of inane twists is just distracting.
Despite the poor writing, the actors manage to keep their dignity and will surely survive the fallout and continue on to more worthy films. LaBeouf's performance echoes back to his earlier roles in independent films like "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" (2006). He proves once again that he can be a superior actor in an inferior film. Billy Bob Thornton is entertaining as always, playing the wise-cracking FBI agent. He gets the best lines of the lot, and is one of the saving graces of the film. The casting is one of the few things "Eagle Eye" has going for it, though the quality actors are never allowed to do anything other than perform fight or flight scenarios.
Directed by D.J. Caruso ("Disturbia," 2007), "Eagle Eye" continues his tradition of trying to mimic the work of Alfred Hitchcock. Where "Disturbia" was a blatant rip-off of "Rear Window" (1954), "Eagle Eye" aspires to be like "North by Northwest" (1959). The difference between Caruso and Hitchcock is, of course, subtlety. Where Hitchcock relied on the narrative to build suspense, Caruso's absurd plot forces him to rely on big explosions and complicated car chases to induce any sort of thrill.
But who really is to blame for this convoluted story? Dan McDermott and three co-writers produced a completely mangled script. "Eagle Eye" could have been this generation's "WarGames" (1983) or "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968). It is a prime example of the old adage about too many cooks in the kitchen. From the opening scene to the climatic conclusion, the phrase suspension of disbelief wouldn't even begin to cover it.
The most shocking element of "Eagle Eye" is that Steven Spielberg (yes, THE Steven Spielberg) is credited as a producer. What went wrong, Steven? It seems he has taken inspiration from big-bang director Michael Bay, who has proven time and time again that you don't need a coherent or even good story to have a solid hit at the box office; you just need a lot of explosions!
Considering the talent involved, it is sad to see how epically "Eagle Eye" failed to be the political thriller its trailers promised. Its political reference of Big Brother would have been cool maybe ten years ago -- today, it is just old news. "Eagle Eye" is enjoyable and mindlessly entertaining because of its car chases, explosions and cheap thriller techniques, but it clearly lacks style and substance.
