Eagle Eye

Rating

Director

D.J. Caruso

Screenplay

John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz, Dan McDermott

Length

118 min.

Starring

Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Anthony Mackie, Ethan Embry, Billy Bob Thornton, Julianne Moore (uncredited), Anthony Azizi, Cameron Boyce, Lynn Cohen, Bill Smitrovich, Charles Carroll, William Sadler

MPAA Rating

PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and for language.

Review

As technology becomes more sophisticated, Hollywood starts making movies where technology is central to a film’s plot. Eagle Eye examines how the role of technological advancement may one day control our lives…literally.

Shia LaBeouf headlines a solid cast of talented thespians as Jerry Shaw, the wanderlust-infused son of a proud father whose son (and Jerry’s twin brother, a member of the United States Air Force) was killed in an auto accident. After the funeral service and Jerry’s fallout with his father, he discovers that a large quantity of illegal goods have suddenly been shipped to his apartment and a mysterious voice on the phone instructs him that he needs to run before the FBI shows up.

Well, the contrarian in him of course leads to capture by the FBI who are investigating him and his brother’s potential involvement in terrorist activities. Jerry immediately rejects the idea, but Agent Thomas Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton) insists there is a connection and leaves the room to have a conversation with Air Force liaison Zoe Perez (Rosario Dawson).

The voice once again calls Jerry and crashes a massive crane into the building freeing him to jump. Afraid to fall, but more afraid to be shot to death by the overzealous agents outside the conference room door, he leaps out of the building, down an awning and onto an Ell track, dodging out of the way of the oncoming train before it can crush him.

From there, he is instructed to get into a car with a woman whom he’s never met. Both assume the other is involved, but once prompted further, Rachel (Michelle Monaghan) drives them away through an impressive, if too chaotic, chase sequence to the docks.

As the pair is instructed to cross the country, Jerry running from the FBI and Rachel complying to save the life of her young son, they embark on several somewhat outlandish and implausible events leading to a showdown in Washington D.C.

Aside from the more irritating aspects of the film, the performances are certainly better than one would expect from an unapologetic action film. What I respect most about LaBeouf is that he doesn’t allow his performance to careen out of control like many of his action hero contemporaries (Will Smith, Mel Gibson). Instead, he keeps it understated and humanistic, drawing the audience into his problems and easily gaining their trust.

Monaghan fares slightly worse in that respect, but manages to acquit herself nicely in the terrified mother role that could have easily been blown out of proportion. The film starts off slowly enough, introducing her character several minutes in, allowing two other actors to gain screen time before much of the rest of the film belongs to LaBeouf and her. Billy Bob Thornton is one of those actors who, left unchecked, can thoroughly annoy a viewer. His glaring monstrosity early in the film thankfully gives way to a less gruff attitude late in the film, but not after becoming the most overbearing performance in the film.

Dawson, on the other hand, may be ambitious, but she never lets the audience believe she has anything more than the purest intentions. The rest of the cast, while above average, certainly has less to do with the film’s success than these four thesps.

Then, there is the otherworldly voice work of Julianne Moore. She isn’t given a credit, but without her vocal acrobatics, the film wouldn’t be nearly as successful. Her lush tone adds immeasurably to the film as it carefully guides Jerry and Rachel. Any other actor could have done the job, but none with as much deftness as Moore.

The story is quite a bit convoluted, but is underlined by a mistrust of Big Brother’s ability to watch average American citizens and as a rebuke of the counter-terrorism approach of the Bush Administration. While little of this information is vocally enumerated, it’s clear from the direction and resolution of the film that this is the theme the writers were hoping to get across.

Before I go further, there are aspects in this paragraph that one might consider spoilers. So, if you don’t want to know about the plot, please skip ahead to the next paragraph. One of the problems with the central premise and the A.R.I.A. project is that we’ve seen this type of haywire machinery concept before. In the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the computer there had developed an artificial intelligence that was violent and prone to killing for its own purposes. The concept is that messing with Artificial Intelligence may have an undesired effect, turning the computer against the inventor. Still, with our push for more technology and the current advancement, having a more modern look at the potential does dull some of the feeling of déjà-vu.

Another flaw is the direction of D.J. Caruso (Disturbia). His music video splashy editing is often distracting and creates an ill-intended effect of making the action hard to follow. While this has become the norm instead of the exception, it is still disorienting and best left out of any film hoping to be taken seriously. The action sequences are tight and suspenseful, but there’s a certain suspension of disbelief that must take effect before one can truly enjoy what one is watching.

The last of the film’s notable flaws (excluding things like the discrepancies in relative locations between scenes in the film) is the final five minutes. As the scene in congress comes to a close, I had toyed with the idea that I could respect the film for its decision. However, as the subsequent scenes unfolded, I became disgusted at how the writers could betray a potentially classic conclusion with such a Hollywood-tripe finale.

For a public that is starving for a strong action film with a conscientious plot, Eagle Eye may be the ointment to soothe the burn left by so many early Summer and late Summer duds. The film isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it will certainly sate the appetites of many an audience.

Review Written

September 29, 2008