Eagle Eye [Blu-ray]
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 12/26/2008The “cell phone thriller” is becoming a genre unto itself, and Eagle Eye should be considered a key example of the form. Frankly preposterous but compulsively watchable, this movie puts Shia LaBeouf in a mess of trouble instigated by a mysterious telephone voice. If he doesn’t follow orders, dire things will happen–although when he does follow orders, the consequences are pretty dire, anyway. Also being blackmailed is a single mom (Michelle Monaghan) receiving similar phone calls. Why are they being jerked around by the purring female voice, and why is the road leading to Washington, D.C.? Actually, you won’t have time to contemplate these questions, because director D.J. Caruso (who guided LaBeouf in Disturbia) keeps the action going at the customary breakneck pace. This is a wise move, because the real questions you’d likely be asking have to do with the plausibility of events on a minute-by-minute basis (most notably: how could Mysterious Phone Voice possibly know that the two pigeons would survive the hoops she makes them fly through, each one more death-defying than the last?). The actors tumble through this mayhem like scattering bowling pins, including Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson as government agents. Nobody has time to make much of an impression, and LaBeouf has much less room for puppydog charm than he did in Disturbia. Even that would be all right within the movie’s berserk parameters, but the really irritating thing is the way the tacked-on final scenes reverse what would have been a heroic climax. No guts, no glory. –Robert Horton
Stills from Eagle Eye (Click for larger image)
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User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars LIKE ORDERING A VEGETARIAN SUBWAY
I was very entertained by the first forty minutes but when my friend told me it’s a great film, I had my doubts, I waited for the film to settle down and then give it a rethink. One hour into the film, I was hoping it wouldn’t stretch too long. Not because I was sleepy but because I realized what a poor script it is. And just when I started to think this Shia guy isn’t as bad as I’ve always thought he was, I realized he is what is wrong with this film. The film is not clever at all. There are many scenes that last for less than one second, almost all are action filled. In the second half, it is a jumble of storylines, twists, concerned eyes, speed and self loveth logic. The actress was horried and so was pretty much everyone invovled in the plot. I don’t understand what is wrong with three of my friends who loved this film. The lowest rating they gave it was an 8/10 and they almost looked hurt when I told them what I thought.
Shia is not a good actor. He should go back and get a degree or two and try to save our economy. The actress has bad skin and made it difficult for me to concentrate on her dialogues. The film never really settles down and when it does it looks campy, cheesy and torturous. Believe me, by no strength of imagination am I the sort of person who considers his time of prime importance, but this film gave me quite a moodswing.
I know it will be a hit and I’m happy the producers will get there money worth. I realize I like the other two films by the actor more. I think it was a waste of good resources. Wanted was better and tolerable.
This is the sort of film that will make it big on movie rentals but it’s just so badly directed.
I loved Billy Bob Thorton in The Man Who Wasn’t There but I must say the man gets really silly roles and aside from the Coen brothers collaboration, he hasn’t done one single worthy film.
I rest my case, the Entourage episode in the morning was today’s highlight.
bye.
1 Stars NO THRILLS HERE!!!
This is the 2nd worst movie I saw this year. Body Of Lies was even worse.
Hang your cell phone up on this one.
3 Stars “Disobey and you die.”
Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) is an ordinary young man working at a copy center when he suddenly finds himself on the run from the FBI. A woman’s voice on the phone has him racing all over the place and facing death at every turn. Running with him is a young mother (Michelle Monaghan) whose son will be killed if she and Jerry don’t do what they’re told. They make their way to Washington, D.C. and finally find out who is controlling their every move.
I’ve enjoyed Shia LaBeouf before and was expecting another movie showcasing his boyish charm. Sadly, this film didn’t give him a chance to really shine; it’s just one frantic, chaotic, mad dash from place to place with a bunch of explosions and implausible escapes from death. The intensity level is always at 99% which leaves no time to really get to know LaBeouf’s character. He’s in a constant state of fear and we don’t know why until the very end. The voice on the phone telling Jerry what to do and where to go has the ability to control any and all machines and systems he comes in contact with; this starts out pretty preposterous and goes all the way to “Huh?!”
None of the incredible, non-stop action scenes could really happen, but if you love explosions and don’t need a story that makes sense, this is the movie for you.
4 Stars Frenetic action with themes of Matrix/iRobot/Minority Report
From the very beginning of the movie the pace is set, and it doesn’t stop. In fact, the two slow parts of the movie are the first minute and the last minute - everything in between is non-stop action that keeps your attention during this just under 2 hour movie.
Avid movie watchers will see themes from other movies embedded in Eagle Eye - a story that revolves around a military artificial intelligence that monitors pretty much EVERYTHING. From mobile phones to surveillance cameras to electrical and utility grids, the AI monitors the United States and reports back on possible threats to the security of the country. Typically these threats are reported to the Department of Defence, but the AI is empowered to act upon them in any way necessary.
The AI has a similar feel to Flight of the Navigator - an “all-seeing-eye” that can roam around the room looking into globes that provide information and communication. There are also water elements in the AI room that are reminiscent of Minority Report, and “all powerful” elements like War Games.
The characters are thrown into the world of terrorism, government conspiracy, and are pitted against the FBI and the Department of Defense as a strange voice on their phones directs their every move (against their will). What will they do to not only save the son of the female lead, but as we discover, save the entire power structure of the United States from a supposed terrorist threat?
This movie features INTENSE car chases - with all the associated explosions and collateral damage. Most of these effects are NON-digital as you learn in the behind the scenes featurettes on the DVD. This adds realism and excitement to the movie. There is also a very intense chase scene in the baggage handling facility of an airport that will leave the viewer thinking they are on a wild roller coaster.
I found myself on the edge of my seat during much of the movie - even with all those memories of past movies with similar AI themes. This one makes it fresh by wrapping a new set of action sequences and character development around the AI in a new and exciting way.
You’ll also want to watch the gag reel on the dvd for an absolutely hysterical sequence between Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson - not to be missed.
Genuine acting, exciting action sequences, and tasteful special effects give this movie four full stars from me. The only reason I did not give it five full stars is due to lack of originality in the AI concept.
4 Stars Subliminal message
“Eagle Eye” doesn’t deserve the thrashing it got at the critics’ hands, although at first sight, it certainly seems to. On the one hand, it’s more like “2001″’s HAL gone postal on a national scale; and on the other, ARIIA is the voice of We, The People, as she stated in the story. In “2001″, HAL did what he did based on what he knew and what he thought was best for the mission. Here, ARIIA also takes over for the purpose of protecting the Constitution and actually obeying it: when the executive branch endangers the nation, it becomes nil and void. The only problem is ARIIA took the violent route and became the villain through its destructiveness. Instead, she should have used her power to broadcast the opening scene of the story on the nation’s TV screens everywhere and have patriots stand up to the executive peacefully. That would have been a true tour de force on the part of the movie makers.
Filed under: Blue Ray Movie Reviews