Eagle Eye

While it holds vast similarity to both “War Games” and “Enemy of the State” and probably a handful of other cyber-thrillers, “Eagle Eye” is a fast-paced thriller that starts off with a bang and ends with a boom! Once it gets past its fifteen minute exposition involving the introduction of the film’s characters and key details that will surface later on in the picture, it’s an intense ride that rarely lets up on the action.

The picture’s obviously suppose to belong to actor Shia LaBeouf who’s quickly become an action superstar in the Hollywood world, but Michelle Monaghan snags quite a bit of screen time herself. You may remember her from the brilliant crime-thriller “Gone Baby Gone” where her role is much more compelling, however, her performance as Rachel in this film is still notable. Billy Bob Thornton turns in a decent act as well playing F.B.I. agent Thomas Morgan. Rosario Dawson, on the other hand, gets dealt a crappy hand as her role is so minimal that it’s hardly memorable.

In itself, the film’s primary focus depicting just how inquisitive the government really is tends to become a bit far-fetched at times, but for the most part, it’s convincing. A week ago, an article was released showcasing an experiment known as the ‘The Large Hadron Collider’ that has been in development for nearly fourteen years and yet we’re just finding out about it now. This begs the question “What else could ‘they’ be hiding from us?” And in a post 9/11 world, there’s no denying the government has become much more involved in communications taking place over telephones and the internet.

Truthfully, there was far too much money put into the production of “Eagle Eye”. This particular season has become known for box-office flops and while this film manages to succeed in areas many previous genre titles failed to during this time, it’ll be interesting to see if the movie can rake in more than its $105 million budget. Fortunately, unlike over-produced features like “Spider-Man 3” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”, at least with “Eagle Eye” it’s obvious the budget was put to good use. The special effects are merely stunning and director D.J. Caruso does a tremendous job in capturing all the action. There is one scene, however, that even after a day since viewing has managed to remain aggravating. It’s a scene taking place in a tunnel that is undoubtedly recycled from a similar sequence in 2007’s “Live Free or Die Hard” down to the vehicles flipping in mid-air and the aircraft being demolished by an automobile.

All in all, “Eagle Eye” is a non-stop thrill-ride that’ll leave your jaw dangling on the floor. The twists never end and the action never lets up. This is undoubtedly the best genre picture you’ll see this fall, well, at least until November when “Quantum of Solace” and “Transporter 3” take the spotlight.