Eagle Eye (2008) User Reviews (413)

A summer blockbuster at heart...just sit back and enjoy the incredibly unrealistic ride

[The_Amazing_Spy_Rises · 7/10 · 25 September 2008]

Ah, the seemingly perfect combination of Steven Spielberg, director D.J. Caruso, and everyman leading star Shia LaBeouf. These guys took us by storm with the pleasant surprise Disturbia last year, and pretty much anything with the name Spielberg on it has to be at least entertaining, if not excellent. That's what Eagle Eye is.

First off, I cannot stress this enough: don't take this movie seriously. Please don't get mad because the movie isn't realistic. I know it's unrealistic. You know it. Shia LaBeouf knows it. That doesn't stop Eagle Eye from being one of the most entertaining and effective thrillers of recent memory. Is it as smart or as gripping as other chase and mystery thrillers such as the Bourne series? Of course not. However, whenever Eagle Eye stretches our minds to the breaking limits with the insanity on screen, it manages to throw in a mind boggling action sequence or two right as we start to get mad.

The film, very well masked by trailers that really only show the beginning of the film and small pieces of the end, deals with cyber-terrorism and a secret military project dealing with destruction and national security. The US Secretary of Defense is portrayed (Michael Chiklis), it's incredibly unrealistic, has Shia LaBeouf, and has a prominent military character (Anthony Mackie). I can already here the Transformers comparisons flying in. The film also lacks in the originality department elsewhere, as elements of I, Robot and Live Free or Die Hard are also present and quite obvious.

I cannot give enough accolades to whoever thought up this action - Eagle Eye boasts arguably the best action sequences of the year. The CGI is seamless and more than worthy of an Oscar nomination. With car chases to rival the best of them, as well as one of the most clever "on-foot" chases I've ever seen within an airport, Eagle Eye never fails to grab your attention with the incredible action sequences.

Now to our cast, the headliners of which are two of film's biggest rising stars. Both live up to their names and reputations admirably. Shia LaBeouf revisits the "troubled youth" character he created in Disturbia, though his turn here is darker and has more depth. He really stretches some acting muscle in the beginning of the film, and it is because of this early success that we are willing to go along for the ride with him, following, trusting, and believing in his Jerry Shaw. Michelle Monaghan, long one of the most underrated in the business, also helps us believe in her character with a convincing show of emotion early in the film. The whole film, despite the action sequences, rides on the shoulders of the leads. If the audience doesn't like them, the film will ultimately fail. I'm pleased to tell you that they rise to the occasion and carry the film with ease.

Our supporting cast includes veterans Billy Bob Thornton and Michael Chiklis. Maybe it was the script, but Thornton's character was so stereotypical and overdone that it almost made him laughable - especially towards the end. Chiklis did great in his role as the Secretary of Defense - and the unfortunate "victim" of circumstance. Rosario Dawson and Anthony Mackie are acceptable in even smaller roles.

I remember when I watched my first D.J. Caruso film a few years ago (Two For the Money), and I remember how much I hated that film. However, Caruso has certainly grown as a filmmaker and has found his niche in the hugely entertaining action blockbuster genre, even if a lot of "movie borrowing" is done. This will be his breakthrough that will allow him a little more freedom as a filmmaker and possibly allow him to blossom into more than just an action film director. The touches of Spielberg are obvious, as the legendary director/producer's presence is only a plus.

Eagle Eye, in short, is a summer blockbuster released in September. It feels like a summer film, and has the components of a summer film: explosions, terrorism, and Shia LaBeouf. It is everything you want in an entertaining action thriller. Don't go looking for your super realistic epic here - Eagle Eye prides itself on blowing your mind every way possible.

Not the greatest but at least it was fun

[judywalker2 · 8/10 · 28 September 2008]

Eagle Eye is not the best movie I've ever seen but it's much better than some of the other junk that been out lately. Yes, it copies almost every recent political thriller and yes it rips off some other movies too, but don't most movies recently do the same. The action was good and the main characters at least were made to be real people that you could connect with. And Billy Bob Thornton was having so much fun and was at his best since Armageddon. This movie proves again that Shia LeBeouf has some talent, too bad he can't seem to stay off the tabloids. Michelle Monaghan also was very good. Unlike some of the critics I thought the ending was quite noble. 8/10

Unbelievable, All Action to Cover Up Holes

[tabuno · 6/10 · 20 January 2019]

26 September 2008. Before I would have seen this movie, I would have paused to wonder how the scriptwriter took a classic such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) or popular movie such as "War Games" (1983), "Enemy of the State," (1998), and even a movie such as Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) based on D.F. Jone's novel "Colossus," or "Demon Seed" (1977) based on Dean R. Koontz's novel and made it into an horror/action/thriller that uses more artificial plot devices to keep the movie moving than almost any movie I've seen. The two-thirds of the movie was unbelievably frustratingly impossible plausibility of what was happening or even worse how the heroes somehow even survive into the second half of the movie. The movie has some suspense, jiggly camera work that attempts to make the action look cool but doesn't. There are a few dialogue gems, bits of humor as well as some decent plot scenes but they can't substitute for a consistent, entertaining movie experience. By the last third of the movie when the action and tension begin to come together with some decency, the typical American ending comes home in style deflating the emotional impact of the finale. Six out of Ten Stars.

Mildly enjoyable, but not entirely memorable.

[Otoboke · 20 October 2008]

I think this is possibly the third film this year that has directly involved a higher power turning 'insufficient funds' into a considerable amount, and while this comparison is valid in a sense, that's where similarities end. From the trailers I was imagining Eagle Eye to be a cross between The Matrix and Wanted, but it's not… not at all. No, it is neither creatively similar nor anywhere near the same quality. So despite some similarities, Eagle Eye at least delivers an experience that is refreshing, but at the same time familiar. Not much risk-taking is implemented here; there are virtually no new ideas of any kind, and the themes present have all been battered to death in countless novels and films that have frankly done the job far more successfully. Read aloud, the script could easily be interpreted to be a techno-phobe's transcription of a recurring nightmare; the government tracking us all on phones, cameras lip-reading us etc. etc. and for the most part, that is how the movie plays out. While these elements leave an experience that will always have you guessing as to where the movie is going next, the eventual climax of the film boils down to character rather than plot, and as a result of spotty characterisation, the film eventually falls flat. Despite some major issues however, Eagle Eye still manages to retain a sense of spectacle, and the story, although mostly a science-fiction dud for the most part, does move forward at a decent rate. In this regard, the movie makes for good popcorn watching, but not much else.

Following meek photo-copy shop clerk Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) as he takes the road after being wrongly suspected as a terrorist by the FBI, Eagle Eye is standard political thriller material; there's the hard-ass government officials, the misunderstood civilian who is inevitably on his way to save everyone, and the fragile love interest along for the ride in the form of Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan). What makes this feature at least a little more interesting than the cookie-cutter outline of thriller scripts however is that both these lead characters are being led on a mysterious journey across the country by a voice-on-a-phone who has access to all sorts of technology that governs our civilisation from computers, phones and TVs to billboards and alarm systems. Through this voice, Eagle Eye delivers its main theme of technological sabotage and paranoia; Big Brother with ones and zeroes. Of course, it's not the most original of ideas, and the movie's script plays them as obvious as can be with no desire for subtlety at all. As such, the writer's lack of anything interesting to say becomes apparent after the first act comes to an end. As far as science-fiction goes, it's standard thematic material. Again, no real developments or ideas are plugged in here for you to digest, only well established ones reiterated for your brainless entertainment.

One of the script's far more successful elements however lies in the character of Jerry, and his off-screen relationship with his recently deceased brother. Although the movie never transgresses beyond the rather a-typical successful brother/lazy brother aesthetic, the writing is focused and sharp enough to give actor LaBeouf enough material to work with. So far this year LaBeouf has proved himself a highly capable performer, and Eagle Eye does well to showcase his talents here. While his chemistry with co-star Monaghan is almost non-existent, the actor does well to cover up most of the holes in this mismatch, and in his character in order to make Jerry a sympathetic, but engaging persona to watch. As a leading man, LaBeouf still shows some restraint and doesn't ever quite improve on his less-than-charismatic performance in Transformers, but as was the case there, his small image often complements the scope of the movie.

In the end, all the characters and their developed relations do eventually come to an emotionally engaging climax that capitalises on such developments with great conviction. Of course, there's a dud of an ending that follows the real climax in order to provide picky viewers with a bow on top of their cathartic package, but it doesn't hurt the final payoff too much. Taken as a whole however, Eagle Eye certainly isn't perfect but it isn't bad either. For popcorn entertainment, director D.J. Caruso does his job well enough to create an engaging thriller that delivers some action, some character and some plot, even if it all feels a little underwhelming when put together. Anyone looking for anything but fluffy action-orientated thrills driven by mystery and spotty politics would be best to find something else to chew on; mildly enjoyable, but not entirely memorable.

• Written by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)

Good action as long as nobody thinks too hard

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 12 April 2014]

Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) is a slacker underachiever. His twin brother dies. Then strange things start happening like a fortune in his bank account, massive amounts of weapons in his apartment, a phone call telling him to leave before the police, and the FBI crashing into his home. Jerry is arrested by Agent Thomas Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton). Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) is a single mom. A phone call gives her instructions threatening to kill her son. Meanwhile the phone calls keep coming guiding the pair to some unknown objective.

There is some good action going on, and a whole lot of outrageous insanity. It struggles between realism and paranoid fantasy. The movie aims to go so fast with so much action that the audience doesn't have time to think about logic or reason. Then it gets even more complicated and it's too much. It seems like a simple story would be so much better. The movie kept going and going. At some point in the last half hour, the movie needs to end. It's just got too much.

I Liked It

[dobbin-4 · 7/10 · 14 October 2008]

Steven Spielburg is just hitting out blockbusters 3 times a year at least at the moment and this outing is definitely not different. The film is exciting, well acted and has been well thought out and directed.

The film is about a slacker who gets drawn into a government scandal by a mysterious voice on a cell phone along with the mother of a young child who is performing at the white house and they eventual find themselves running from not only the machine, but the whole country of America as well. This leads to a very good movie I would definitely recommend to any movie goer.

Anyway, Shia Labeouf is very good in this film and helps hold it together with Billy Bob Thornten, who, I must admit actually did a good job in this film.

Overall, I think this film is a good watch and a good movie to watch with friends. It really does show that Steve is one of the masters of Hollywood. I rate it 74%

The eye of the eagle!

[helmutty · 7/10 · 1 October 2008]

From the director of disturbia, I know this movie will be intense and thrilling. Shia Labeouf and D.J. Caruso with Steven Spielberg come up with a second feature movie. This is bigger, more intense and more action than disturbia. D.J. Caruso proves that he can create a more intense movie with cars exploding with a bigger budget. Eagle Eye is intense and thrilling but the story is a bit weird and simple.

The story: The story is not original as we probably heard this kind of stories before. Though it is not original, I like it for its thrills and suspense. I have seen better action than in this. The plot- Shia plays Jerry Shaw in the movie who is following orders from an unknown caller. Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) is involved in the insane orders. They start running, going from one place and other and collect stuffs. There is exploding action in between. There is a mild twist added- the caller. For an intense action movie, it is good. But if I consider it for its plot, it is just mildly interesting.

Overall: If you have seen disturbia, you might want to catch the director's second feature. You want intense movies, here is one. Those looking for interesting and realistic plus not laughable plot, this probably may make you lift an eyebrow, thinking how the heck the caller do this and that. Whatever it is, it made my time passed.

Shia running

[drpainters · 6/10 · 5 February 2021]

Essentially seems like someone saw transformers and was like I can get Shia to run for 2hrs as well with pretty much no story or plot happening . Decent enough though, bit long.

A great popcorn flick

[mneiai · 8/10 · 25 September 2008]

Eagle Eye is a well-paced, action-packed popcorn movie up at the same level as most of Shia LeBouf's other movies. It had just enough mystery to keep a intellectual interest throughout the explosions, horrific deaths (though, of course, the rating meant they were off-screen), and originally awkward interaction between the two main characters. While an attentive viewer will guess most of the "surprises" before they are revealed, the question as to how the movie will ultimately end makes up for any disappointment.

The acting was better than expected, the storyline as original as it could hope to be, and, all in all, it is certainly a movie I suggest to fans of action, Shia, or government conspiracies.

I was quite underwhelmed.......

[MuggySphere · 6/10 · 23 January 2009]

I was totally underwhelmed with this.

The action pieces on their own were good, but when they were all tied together and put into the one movie Eagle Eye becomes quite underwhelming. I liked the set pieces of all the action but this movie did not satisfy me as a whole.

Shia Labouf's acting was alright, as was his co star Michelle Monaghan. They performed their roles well, given the material that they were given.

Once ARIA was introduced I knew things would go from bad to worse. I figured it was behind all the voices on the phones once the computer was introduced to us. Up until that movement I thought it was a real woman ordering everyone around..

ARIA is the most amazing computer in all of movie making, for she can not only direct every single traffic light around you to guide you away from harm but if your car has a GPS unit inside she can take over the GPS and even take control of the car... What a machine? Not to mention that wrecking yard and those cranes, now really who would put that kind of automation into cranes on a wrecking yard so no one need be actually there to drive them..

I didn't much like the resolution to this all. A bit too easy, just pull out all her memory boards, drain the cooling fluid and pike her in the eye. Was that a rip off of GLADOS from the Portal game. Looked a lot like that...

6/10 and that's being generous

If you have half a brain, wow did this movie blow...

[firedude34 · 2/10 · 12 October 2008]

Where to start with this movie. There are so many unbelievable premises I don't even know where to start. Conspiracy theorists will love this movie. Everyone else will just constantly find themselves saying "Riiiiight…." & "You've got to be kidding me…" Let's just cover some of the premises we are asked to believe:

1. There is a Super-Super Computer (called Aria) designed to recognize threats to national security by monitoring every cell phone, computer, video camera, and radio frequency in the world. All by itself. Stupid evil Patriot Act.

2. Aria can make high tension power transmission lines overload and snap exactly where she needs to just so the wire can fall and kill someone that disobeyed her (Aria has a female voice).

3.Aria has decided that the President and his entire cabinet must be eliminated because they didn't listen to her advice on a missile strike in the Middle East, and thus must be a significant threat to the national security of the United States. Pres and his cabinet must be Republicans.

4. Aria can read lips and follow conversations just by observing the vibrations of the conversation on the surface of a cup of coffee.

5. Aria can hack into any security camera, cell phone, airport metal detector, remote controlled crane, etc. on a moment's notice and take control of them. Totally anonymously.

6. Aria can control anything and everything electronic in the world, but can't overcome some internal programming that prevents her from accomplishing her mission.

7. There is a newly discovered crystal that when properly triggered, a 1 carrot diamond sized piece of this crystal will demolish the Capitol building.

8. It seems we have remotely piloted vehicles (RPV) that look just like a Predator RPV sitting around the U.S. on military bases fully loaded with missiles and machine guns… just waiting for a demented Super-Super Computer to take control of them.

9. Apparently it takes about 4 days to get to D.C. from the Midwest by passenger train. No wonder Amtrack is always in trouble...

10. If you slow your metabolism enough, you can survive a ride in the un-pressurized bay of a military transport aircraft.

11. A single missile strike in the Middle East triggers the 'real' Jihad world wide and threatens the U.S. and it's evil capitalistic interests.

12. If you dress like a cop, you can waltz into the Capitol building when the President and his entire staff are there and Congress is in session. With a sidearm. Oh, and there is a secret access tunnel under the Capitol.

13. The rest of the world has to pass through 20 layers of heavy security to get to Aria's secret level of the Pentagon. But, if you know the right computer, you can get direct access to Aria's level via a service elevator that is nowhere near any security.

It just goes on, and on, and on through the entire movie. Jeez I couldn't wait for it to be over… and boy was I glad when it was! Uhg. Nothing in the movie was believable. I thought Vantage Point was a bad movie… this was worse. Wait for the DVD.

Something old, something new

[wordsmith_57 · 9/10 · 26 September 2008]

Yeah, there is a bit of 2001 Space Odyssey, I Robot, Bourne Supremacy--any movie that has computers, surveillance, and government, coupled with unwilling participants. But it works. It does. Don't let the naysayers dispel you from a movie worth watching. Who cares if Spielberg favors Shia? I couldn't think who else could duck cars, cranes, the FBI, and still crack a joke that fits right in place. From Holes to Eagle Eye, Shia proves worth watching (okay, I Robot, was a bit silly). Eagle Eye does start out fresh and exciting in the beginning, gets a little boggy in the middle, and is soft at the end--BUT, it is still worth the admission price. You won't want to leave at anytime during the movie, the pace is so tightly executed. The stunt action is primo--the car crashes alone are standout. And the chase scene in the airport conveyor system is something else. The whole question of do we have too much technology is the theme. Don't forget to leave your cell phone at home.

Eagle Eye

[christaphwano · 7/10 · 27 September 2008]

This movie was a great ride, plenty of action, good leads from Shia LaBeof and Michelle Monahan. I always enjoy Billy Bob Thornton but thought he should have been given more in this role, I loved his interviewing technique with the security guards. Some of the imagery reminded me of other movies, the pylon scene was so like Seven and of course decommissioning Hal from 2001. The computer was entertainingly 'over the top' and would have looked more at home in a Star Wars film. Here reluctantly is the spoiler, the idea of the computer enforcing the Constitution is the type of realm that has always intrigued me. I felt the film could have explored this a little further, without damaging the blockbuster effect. The computer was a type of Jarret from Les Miserables, existing to enforce an ideal but lacking human sensitivity. As governments implement anti terrorist regulations to combat inhuman terrorists, will everyone else's humanity get buried in the sheer energy of human effort? We can't blame a computer, because we program them. This film did nudge me to that train of thought, but as I said it's always intrigued me. Thanks to D J Caruso for the wild ride.

This is what is wrong with modern cinema

[imdb-17809 · 1/10 · 14 November 2008]

This movie is what is wrong with modern cinema. This movie is an insult to the public's intelligence. This movie is crap. First off I'm going to spoil the hell out of this movie because if I succeed in anything here it is to convince you to watch anything else. Watch Madagascar 2 if you have to. I give the movie a free pass on all the fantastic assertions it makes about the capability of computers. This is a supposed high tech, futuristic, super duper secret computer... so anything is possible. HOWEVER: 1) Hollywood needs to get it through their thick skulled craniums that the inclusion a powerful artificial intelligence does not have to always be the big bad wolf... I get the poetic significance of the human spirit vs. the evil machine but it's been done hundreds of times by people far better. Even collectively the writers: John Glenn, Travis Wright, Hillary Seitz, and Dan McDermott are not a tenth of what Kubrick is. 2) If there were such a super computer capable of anything from phone calls, traffic lights, planes, trains, TVs and satellites it seems a little bit difficult to fathom why it would need to recruit two numb skulls to do its bidding. 3) We spend 2 hours watching these two unwittingly participate in an elaborate, explosive (yet oddly perfectly timed) storyline to ultimately fail. Apparently our super computer wasn't smart enough to launch a missile, crash a plane, or any number of far simpler plots to take out our government. In fact... even to take the given storyline for what it was, all that was needed was a necklace and a note to be played at the correct time. We sat through 2 hours to see that complicated circumstance manifest itself? 4) Secret Service shoot to kill, they do not wound or wing or pleasantly ask strange men with guns shooting up the state of the union to please put your gun down. They kill you. Why didn't they? Well that's what big bad evil computers do. People don't kill people, that's just silly. 5) How is it a super dooper future computer with unheard of technology and fabulous artificial intelligence is brought down by a pipe to the eyeball? The thing takes up a 4 story room and its eyeball is the weak spot? Why the hell didn't they just stab it in the eye to begin with?!? I'd give this farce less than one star but Flixter won't let me. I'll be waiting for Eagle Eye 2. A supercomputer writes it and saves us from having to sit through another collaborative effort of the 4 nitwits that gave us this movie.

You've Been Activated

[manny-97 · 24 September 2008]

The "technology is everywhere" idea for "Eagle Eye" was hatched several years ago from the brilliant mind of executive producer Steven Spielberg. He wanted to do for electronic devices what he successfully did for sharks in "Jaws." People feared going to the water after watching Spielberg's 1975 masterpiece but I doubt they will stop using technology because of "Eagle Eye."

Yet, the film succeeds in instilling paranoia. It may not have reached the cinematic tension of "Jaws," but you will still feel suspicious about your cell phones, laptops, and GPS. Is Big Brother watching? In "Eagle Eye," it's Big Sister who's doing all the controlling. Her soothing but commanding voice (Julianne Moore in an uncredited role) is manipulating people into doing exactly what she wants them to do. Her motivation may be patriotic, but the means by which she carries out her duties can be considered terroristic.

Acting as Big Sister's unwilling puppets are Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. Their characters unite to figure out who's the person behind Big Sister's voice.

In his first adult leading man role, LaBeouf stars as Jerry Shaw, a copy clerk in Chicago who's detached from his family. Compared to his successful twin brother, an Air Force public relations officer, Jerry is an underachieving loser with no ambition or dreams.

When his brother gets killed in a car crash, Jerry's life takes a drastic turn for the worse. Suddenly, huge amounts of bomb-making materials show up at his apartment, which prompt the FBI, headed by Agent Thomas Morgan (the scene-stealing Billy Bob Thornton), to label Jerry a terrorist.

Meanwhile, Monaghan's Rachel is busy being a single mom. Her little boy is off to Washington, D.C. to play for the President in his school band. That night, Rachel is enjoying an all-girls night out when she receives "the" call. Her child's life is in danger, if she doesn't follow directions precisely.

"Rachel Holloman you have been activated," says the soothing voice on the other end of the line. "Your compliance is vital. We will derail your son's train unless you do what you're told!" Cue action-packed music.

Directed by D.J. Caruso, LaBeouf's partner-in-crime in "Disturbia," "Eagle Eye" is a non-stop action-thriller that's frenetic, chaotic, and at times, overwhelming. Get ready to be assaulted by quick edits and jerky camera movements – a barrage of sights and loud sounds which sometimes culminates into mind-blowing special effects.

Amidst all the noise, the quiet performance by "The Shield's" Michael Chiklis as Defense Secretary Callister stands out as the heart of the movie. You can see that a world of responsibilities rests upon his shoulders.

I also enjoyed the chemistry between LaBeouf and Monaghan. The romantic tension is evident albeit inferred. If this is an 80s movie, the actors would have made love, with guns a' blazing and a Journey soundtrack playing in the background.

The biggest element I liked about "Eagle Eye" is its strong "what if" factor. The hi-tech central plot of the film doesn't feel like science fiction. Spielberg's imagination is truly ahead of his time. He conjured up this scenario long before cell phones, laptops, and GPS rule the world. So get off of your computer and watch "Eagle Eye." And for that, "Eagle Eye" gets 3 "Big Sister's Watching" kisses.

Eagle Eye

[mr_popcorn · 7/10 · 29 September 2008]

Jerry Shaw: (shouting) "Are you the one who called me on the phone?"

Rachel Holloman: "She called you too?"

'Eagle Eye' is a race-against-time thriller starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton. Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) are two strangers thrown together by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situations--using the technology of everyday life to track and control their every move. As the situation escalates, these two ordinary people become the country's most wanted fugitives, who must work together to discover what is really happening--and more importantly, why.

A highly entertaining popcorn flick thrill ride that doesn't stop from start to finish. The movie kind of starts slow, introducing the main characters Jerry (Shia) and Rachel (Michelle) and a bit of story development from each character but then the minute Shia's character is arrested by the FBI under false pretenses, the movie kicks into overdrive and the adrenaline rush doesn't stop until it ends. Eagle Eye is a prime example of a highly budgeted studio popcorn flick with big explosions and eye popping car chase sequences. Michael Bay should be proud.

The plot is somehow far fetched and implausible which makes this kind of a science fiction in its kind and so far, this has been one of the better science fiction I have seen but its no 'Blade Runner'. Pure mindless, adrenaline, over-the-top sci-fi thriller fun, and I liked it...a lot.

The goal of the film, besides giving us virtual adrenaline rush in high doses is, they want us, the audience to fear our cellphones and computers and hoped that after watching it, we would never ever touch a single technological gadget in our lives. Just like what Spielberg did when he made 'Jaws'. When people saw the film, they thought twice in getting in a sailboat and heading out to open seas. It could have worked, it might not but if you ask me, I'm still not afraid of my BlackBerry. I love my BlackBerry. But that's just me.

Shia LaBeouf who is clearly making his way into bankable lead actor status is improving in every film that I see him in. He's one of those actors you might want to watch out for. Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Will Smith should watch their backs, there's a new kid in town. Michelle Monaghan, on the other hand, is an actress that I am totally a fan. I first noticed her in 2005's underrated film "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" then her follow-up "Mission Impossible III" as Tom Cruise's flame. This lady delivers all the goods when it is needed, that's why she's one of my favorite actresses out there.

The plot of Eagle Eye may have been used a lot of times, I can see some striking similarities with 2004's I,Robot and Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey" but this one I highly enjoyed and I was impressed actually. I little bit of advice, I highly recommend it that you watch this movie in the theaters because I am telling you right now, those high-definition Dolby surround sound will blow your eardrums away.

Tension Filled Mindless Action Flick

[StaticEngine · 7/10 · 24 September 2008]

I went to see a free preview of this movie tonight with my wife, thanks to the local indie newspaper. Based on the trailers alone, I made a five dollar bet about the "bad guy" in the film before the lights even went dark, and I got to claim victory halfway through the movie.

Besides being mildly predictable, it was tense. Very tense. There weren't any major twists and turns, although the motivation for why these two characters are chosen to carry out this plot is fairly clever. One wonders what the nemesis would have done had a certain character been an only child. The stunts, chases, explosions, and fights are all well done and visually interesting, although it's clear that Chiklis, Rosario, and Billy Bob are being just professional enough as actors to collect their paychecks while still having fun with their roles.

The last thirty seconds will also make you wonder what the dialog writers were thinking, and I assure you every hacker-wannabe teenager will have the checkerboard font from this movie on their webpages for the next three months. There's no real depth of thought to this movie, nor are there any revelations about our data-mining rich culture that isn't reported daily in any major newspaper nor fantasized about on Slashdot. It's aw-shucks McGuffins and security camera narrated chases the whole way, with a thankfully wider field of view than the second Bourne movie, but the cautionary tale has been around since Mary Shelley. Otherwise, if you're looking for an escapist but reasonably fresh look at the modern tension-filled technothriller, Eagle Eye fits the bill nicely.

Technology Sucks

[Deschenes · 7/10 · 26 September 2008]

Finally, Shia stars in a movie that isn't so childish, although Transformers was great. Eagle Eye went up and over my expectations, demonstrating the idea that " Technology Sucks." Eagle Eye wasn't a very thought out political thriller, but nonetheless entertaining. Shia is accused of terrorism, and along with a side character, played by Michelle Monaghan, they run from the government, following orders from an unknown caller, in order not to die.

There is a twist ending to this movie, as things are not what they seem. I think that paying 10 bucks to see this movie in theaters was definitely be worth the price, as the special effects are excellent, but are somewhat hard to see due to many explosions and car chases. Many of the action scenes were very unrealistic, as the directors may have forgot about gravity, but otherwise they kept me on the edge of my seat. Eagle Eye deserved 7 stars for its mediocre political ideas, and great acting, except by Billy Bob Thorton.

Interesting idea but...

[cameronreilly-1 · 6/10 · 18 September 2008]

...the plot is so obvious and implausible that the folks I was in the cinema with at a screening tonight just laughed... in all the wrong places. Great to see Chiklis, Thornton, Dawson and Turtle from Entourage in small roles, but they aren't used to any advantage. If the plot had been set 20 years in the future, it might have been more credible, but Jan 2009? However it's one more film criticizing American imperialism and the current government's elimination of civil rights, so it can't be all bad. There are some terrific stunts, some dodgy green screen effects, and Shia slurs his words like a young Brando. But if you're looking for an easy film to watch that won't stress your neurons... and there is nothing else on... this is one to see.

Surprised to discover it's SF

[RichardSRussell-1 · 8/10 · 26 September 2008]

I went to the midnight Imax showing of Eagle Eye without my note-taking material, thinking it was going to be just a political/espionage thriller. To my surprise, it turned out to be science fiction, and pretty effective SF at that.

Young slacker Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBoeuf) and single mom Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) are being psychologically manipulated by an imperious woman who orders them around over whatever phone happens to be handy, giving them seemingly impossible tasks requiring split-second timing for no obvious purpose. I seldom appreciate the cinematic technique of frenzied, blurred, jumbled cuts of hard-to-follow high-speed action, but here they're used to good effect as the protagonists are rushed from one crisis to another way too fast to figure out what's going on. Their confusion and panic becomes yours. All they know is that they must obey or die.

Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson are investigators who start out suspecting our heroes of terrorism but gradually figure out that everyone's being jerked around by the mysterious Aria. Many crashes and narrow escapes. No comic relief. No comic bookness. No time for romance. Dead serious, with dirt under its nails.

Welcome to Surveillance World. I'd like to say it's set in the near future, but it may well be here already.

HAL Comes To Washington

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 21 October 2008]

Shia LaBoeuf plays two parts in Eagle Eye, very briefly he's a young Air Force Man working at a very top secret room on the 36th sub level of the Pentagon basement. He gets killed in a traffic accident and the scene shifts now to his underachieving twin brother who works at a copy store.

After the funeral of the Air Force Shia, strange things happen to copy boy Shia. He gets 3/4 of a million dollars in his bank account and his apartment gets filled with all kinds of things that make him look like terrorist suspect number one in the USA. At the same time a young mother, Michelle Monaghan gets some threatening phone calls about bodily harm happening to her son. The two of them, total strangers, get forced to work together on some convoluted scheme.

What Air Force Shia was working on is a Hal like computer which monitors everything and knows everything about anyone. The latest in technology in the war on terror. And this HAL like creature named ARIA does not like to be told 'no'. Like HAL, ARIA has decided to dispense with the human element of running our government.

Stephen Spielberg produced and D.J. Caruso directed a nice cast of players supporting LaBoeuf and Monaghan. Shia is certainly shedding his Disney Channel image from his Even Stevens days. Best in the supporting cast is Air Force Intelligence Officer Rosario Dawson, formerly B'Elanna Torres on Star Trek Voyager.

If this is our future, God Help Us unless we're in the process of creating God with silicon.

This is a SMART mastermind?

[rogerm_59 · 4/10 · 12 October 2008]

It's hard to comment on how stupid this movie is without giving away the main plot devise, but before I do, if you want to see a bunch of cool car chases and some unbelievable special effects -- unbelievable in the sense that the laws of physics wouldn't allow this -- you could find worse places to waste your money.

(spoiler)

But let me get this straight: There's one man on earth (who through the grace of God has allowed his vocal chords to develop exactly like his twin brother's did -- flu for flu, adolescence for adolescence)who can allow Aria to kill off the leadership, and the best way she can figure to get him to Washington is to make him the country's most wanted terrorist and send him through a ragged series of near-death experiences with the FBI and everyone else trying to gun him down? She has to get a crystal in the capital, and her best plan is to put it around the neck of a distraught mother making the same insane race to the Capitol? Her best plan for activating the crystal is to hope a nervous 8-year-old hits the perfect difficult note on a difficult instrument? And the whole plan involves "activiating" a dozen or so other operatives as minor cogs in her whole evil scheme, showing that she doesn't understand that the more moving parts you have the more likely something will go wrong? No one ever told her: Keep it simple? And this is a super-duper-i-can-even-read-vibrations-in-a-coffee-cup- made-by-a-cel-phone's-tiny-speaker computer?

(end of spoiler)

I think we're safe for a while.

The BD Spotlight

[darthbandon-kit · 10/10 · 14 June 2022]

Make sure you have health insurance before you watch. With all the twists and turns you are liable to get whiplash or at least a little sick. But the film doesn't disappoint. It's fast paced and grabs your attention with a tight chokehold. As long as you just let it happen, you'll find yourself watching a movie you enjoy.

Plot holes and clichés

[ChrisCottell · 7/10 · 20 October 2008]

Why can't films be made without plot holes and why do they have to be so clichéd? I watched this yesterday and I was entertained (I gave it 7/10), but it irritated me that there were so many plot holes. They ruin a film especially one that bills itself as being full of mystery and intrigue. If I'm trying to figure out what the plot is, then throwing something in just because it would be cool is confusing (explosives and his room (surely there were better ways to get his coercion) / the guy that gets fried (how did those cable detach)). In this film it then ends up with very convoluted ways for them to escape (crane from FBI / cars and wrecking yard) which is supposed to make you think, wow, it was all part of the plan, but the actions scenes are too chaotic and the outcomes would be too random to have had a plan in place (phone in plane / injections to get into the pentagon / many people which just grab them and give them stuff).

The clichés are just lazy (HAL) and have been done so much better elsewhere. I can accept that an AI can become 'a bit misguided', I've read enough Clarke and seen 2001, but the intelligence it exhibits to come up with the most stupid scheme is frustrating as there must have been easier ways to kill 12 old men especially when you can control UAVs.

If you want to see a film with a crazy AI watch 2001, if you want more intelligent scheming AI then Ghost in the Shell, if you want an action big brother movie then Enemy of the State is good and if you want a really good action movie then watch Die Hard.

Eagle Eye: I Think I've Gone Blind (SPOILERS)

[goldwriting · 2/10 · 28 September 2008]

Shia LeBeouf is the boy with the golden ticket. We've watched him rise from talent on the TV in Even Stevens, make a breakthrough performance in The Battle of Shaker Heights (one of the winning films from the ambitious Project Greenlight) and land squarely in the middle of some of the biggest blockbusters of all time, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls and Transformers. His star is shining bright in the Hollywood skyline and nothing seems to be slowing him down… except for the fact his acting skills are getting completely lost in terrible, truly terrible, scripts. Let's give his newest visual extravaganza a look see.

Eagle Eye is the story of Jerry Shaw (LeBeouf), a young, brilliant son who never applied himself to anything and is scraping by in a droll existence dodging his landlady and bluffing money in poker games in the back room of his copy store job. This is also the story of Rachel Holloman (played by Michelle Monaghan), a pretty, young and bitterly divorced woman who's trying to vicariously live out her wild youth through her friends, while dedicating her only strength and passion to her young son. These two seemingly total opposites are "activated" and sent kicking and screaming through a dangerous series of hoops by an unknown voice on their phones, who can seemingly track them absolutely anywhere. Jerry is forced into it because he's been framed as a terrorist, while Rachel runs the gambit to save the life of her son. Together they try to stay alive long enough to figure out what it is they are supposed to accomplish.

*There you have the basic set up. From this point on, there are spoilers because it is impossible to write about the issues with this film without giving away the plot twists. You've been warned.* There is no person on the other end of the phone. It's a computer called Aria who was designed and built by the Department of Defense and is now on the warpath to eradicate the chain of command, all the way up to the President, because they disobeyed a tactical recommendation she gave them. So after all the hype and excitement around the movie, it turns out to be nothing more than a poor remake of WarGames. This is only made more offensive by the fact that I loved WarGames as a kid and amazingly enough the film still holds up today, which many from that time period don't, especially when they have to do with computer technology.

The film pretty much unravels from the moment you are told everything is being run and designed by a rogue artificial intelligence. The trailers were specifically designed to hide this fact, giving off more of a "big brother" fright tactic, and I applaud that marketing plan, except the only time that works is when the true plot twist in the theater is more interesting than the one we already imagined. This is not the case with Eagle Eye. No computer system would ever create such a convoluted and hole-ridden assassination plot. Computer systems are based on logic, even the ones we give personalities to, but Aria decides to make Shia and Michelle run rampant through downtown streets in numerous cities, dodging death and destruction at every turn, only so they can get into Aria's control panel and undo a biometric lock put in place by…wait for it…wait for it…Shia's twin brother, Ethan Shaw. We're supposed to believe that once this lock is removed, Aria can proceed with her plan to destroy the chain of command. Not bad, as long as the audience chooses to notice that by this point in the movie the plan had no way of stopping, even if the lock was still in place. All the pieces were already in motion and Aria was pretty much unnecessary to the assassination.

Seriously, I could go on and on about the plot holes and logical misfires in this script. They range from a cell phone which can be triggered to only light up in short bursts and used to relay Morse code (I don't know about you, but one click on mine and it stays lit for at least three seconds, no matter what) to the fact that only one mini-mart shop in all of Washington D.C. has a security camera not hooked up to any external network. The amount of disbelief needed in this film to make it enjoyable is staggering, almost more than Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Transparent Ego Issues. No one actually tried to make sense of anything in the film and it runs on the belief if you move the camera around fast enough no one will notice. Well I noticed and I'm nowhere near the only one.

D.J. Caruso, the director of this silver screen misfit, is teetering on the brink of becoming Michael Bay, which I'm sure to some people is not a bad thing. He could follow this path and keep making bigger and bigger movies with less and less attention paid to the story or plot, but there's a certain amount of respect traded to the devil of special effects and deep pocket budgets. He won a ton of people to his side with his Rear Window homage, Disturbia, and gained Shia as his modern male muse, but this recent visual splatterstorm of nonsense has brought him back to square one. The cast of the movie, which also included Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson, kept up their end of the bargain, but no one could perform their way into anything meaningful inside the web of failed logic and shark jumping. The blame firmly rests on the shoulders of screenwriters John Glenn and Travis Wright, which is frightening since these two are currently writing the remakes of Clash of the Titans and The Warriors. If there is justice in the film world, let their directors know how to rewrite on set.