Eagle Eye is an absurd big-brother techno thriller that tries way too hard and doesn’t even take advantage of what boils down to a rather cool plotline. Disturbia director D.J. Caruso once again brings Shia LaBeouf, accompanied by Michelle Monaghan, along for a ride best described as Enemy of the State times 100. If you thought instant satellite imaging was outlandish get ready for what Eagle Eye has to offer.
Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) are two average citizens. Jerry works at Copy Cabana and Rachel is a single mom trying to make ends meet. Things change when Jerry comes home from his twin brother’s funeral to find terrorist paraphernalia filling his apartment, an additional $750,000 in his bank account and the FBI pushing his face into the floor. Rachel has her life turned upside down as well as a mysterious female voice tells her she has to do “this” and “that” if she wants her son to live. The forces behind the mayhem set these two on a collision course that feeds an increasingly elaborate and ludicrous plot that may entertain in spectacle as long as you leave all brain cells at the door (seriously, all of them).
While I didn’t think Eagle Eye was a good film because its absurdity level vastly overwhelmed anything resembling brainless entertainment, there are some bright spots. I, for one, think Shia LaBeouf is always fun to watch. He has an excellent ability to deliver well written dialogue and this film has plenty of clever one liners that keep you smiling throughout. I especially loved a line when FBI Agent Thomas Morgan, played by Billy Bob Thornton, turns to look at three of his subordinates and says, “You better be looking at me because I’m the suspect, because if I’m not I will have all three of you working a job that involves touching shit with your hands by the morning!” Thornton, like LaBeouf, delivers the line with such realism you can’t help but laugh at several similar lines.
The film also benefits from well crafted effects-driven scenes even if their origins are completely off-the-wall. The overall secret to this thriller is the film’s ultimate downfall as it takes a relatively simple idea, which was executed rather well in Enemy of the State, and escalated it to something too complicated for its own good. The idea of using a country’s citizens against itself in tune with Constitutional rights is an intriguing idea, but it is hardly touched upon due to the film’s antagonist’s lack of emotional connection and the story’s overall dedication to technology over substance.
I can’t imagine anyone coming out of Eagle Eye all that intrigued and giddy with excitement, but I think you would be hard-pressed to say you weren’t at least mildly entertained for an hour and 45 minutes. You may not rush off to tell your friends how great the movie is, but I don’t think you will say it was a terrible time at the movies either.
C-
