Eagle Eye

Director: D.J. Caruso
Screenplay: John Glenn & Travis Wright
Genre: Action - Crime - Mystery -Thriller
Country: USA/Germany
Certification: 12+
Language: English
DVD Release: 16th March, 2009

MAIN CAST:

Shia LaBeouf [Jerry Shaw]
Michelle Monaghan [Rachel Holloman]
Cameron Boyce [Sam Holloman]
Billy Bob Thornton [Agent Thomas Morgan]
Rosario ...
...Shaw is what you could call a 'loser'--he's everything his twin brother is not... although smart, he'll choose menial jobs that can easily be dropped because he likes to move around, he's unable to hack stable or meaningful relationships, he's an underachiever who refuses to toe-the-line, and although he's been given every opportunity in life, he's thrown it all away.

Working as a copy boy at a photocopy shop, behind with his rent ... more

Director: D.J. Caruso
Screenplay: John Glenn & Travis Wright
Genre: Action - Crime - Mystery -Thriller
Country: USA/Germany
Certification: 12+
Language: English
DVD Release: 16th March, 2009

MAIN CAST:

Shia LaBeouf [Jerry Shaw]
Michelle Monaghan [Rachel Holloman]
Cameron Boyce [Sam Holloman]
Billy Bob Thornton [Agent Thomas Morgan]
Rosario Dawson [Zoe Perez]

Jerry Shaw is what you could call a 'loser'--he's everything his twin brother is not... although smart, he'll choose menial jobs that can easily be dropped because he likes to move around, he's unable to hack stable or meaningful relationships, he's an underachiever who refuses to toe-the-line, and although he's been given every opportunity in life, he's thrown it all away.

Working as a copy boy at a photocopy shop, behind with his rent and unable to afford even a cup of coffee, Jerry's life is looking bleak indeed--and then he receives a telephone call from his mother... his twin brother was killed in a road accident. Devastated by the news, Jerry returns home for the funeral.

Following a confrontation with his father, Jerry leaves his parents' home immediately after the funeral. Jerry's life appears to be going straight downhill... but then, after discovering a $1,000.00 cheque in his rucksack, courtesy of dad, Jerry heads for a cashpoint machine in order to deposit it. To his surprise and amazement, Jerry discovers that his bank balance is now at $751,000.00! With cash spewing out of the machine, Jerry doesn't ask any questions and pockets a wad of money before heading home to his rented flat.

When he arrives at his flat, he is met by his landlady who tells him that a delivery of boxes was made to his flat earlier... Jerry stuffs a wad of money into her hands and enters his flat. Once again, he is stunned to discover that his landlady wasn't exaggerating when she said the boxes were nearly stacked to the ceiling! Not knowing what to make of everything that's happening to him, Jerry goes through a few of the boxes and discovers that they contain some serious military weaponry... sniper bullets, top secret documents, forged passports, rifles, explosives, etc. Thinking that things just can't get any worse, his cell phone rings and a female voice tells him that he's been activated, and that he has 30 seconds to get out of his flat before the FBI show up to arrest him for being a terrorist. Panicked, Jerry attempts to get more information from the woman, but she continues her countdown whilst urging him to escape... and before Jerry can get to grips with the situation he's been forced into, the FBI break his door down and arrest him.

Rachel Holloman is your average single mum trying to make ends meet as best she can because the father of her child can't be bothered to make child support payments on time. When her son, a talented trumpet player, is selected, along with his band-mates, to play at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., she sends her son off and decides to take advantage of her free-time by going out with friends.

When Rachel's cell phone rings in the nightclub, she notices that the caller ID is her son and steps outside because the club is too noisy. However, when she answers, a woman's voice tells her that she has been activated and orders her to turn around... which Rachel does. Rachel notices the giant advertising billboards fitted to a building and panics when she sees that her son, who is on a train heading to Washington, is being filmed in real-time. When the voice on the cell phone tells Rachel that her son's train will be derailed unless she does exactly as she's told, Rachel does what any mother would do... she obeys the voice.

Meanwhile, Jerry is allowed to make a call while in FBI custody, but instead of reaching his parents, his call is hijacked by the same woman who had called him on his cell phone, and she helps him escape. On the run, Jerry is forced to obey the woman who has become his worst nightmare, and that's when he and Rachel are thrown together...

'Eagle Eye' is a fascinating film... albeit a bit slow at the start. Give it a few minutes, and you'll be glad you did because it's going to take you on an amazing rollercoaster ride crammed with special-effects and non-stop action - and half an hour into the film time will literally flitter away!

There's just so much to like - the frenzied pace of the movie, the maniacal car races, the gadgetry, the chilling female voice over the telephone, the 'Big Brother' atmosphere, the massive explosions and clever twists and turns of a well-written and addictive story - 'Eagle Eye' will keep you guessing, and you'll spend most of your time perched on the edge of your seat.

What a treat the car races are, especially as they incorporate some highly imaginative gadgetry and high-tech remote-controlled machinery that simply boggle the mind, not to mention the added chaotic visual stimuli of twisted and sizzling metal as police vehicles fall prey to the devious workings of the 'mysterious female voice'.

There's an awful lot going for this film, and well worth the cost of either renting it or purchasing it... whichever floats your boat.

The story is very clever, and the dialogue is exactly as I like it with no unnecessary chitchat. Although the opening scenes are pretty staid and tedious, it is a necessary part of the movie that must be watched in order to understand the logic behind the outcome - although I reckon I could have done just fine without it. In fact, a verbal explanation at some point in the movie would have sufficed for me - but what's done is done, the scenes are there, and although the majority will be stifling yawns through those scenes they in no way spoil the film.

The acting is extremely good, especially with the added bonus of Billy Bob Thornton as wily FBI agent Thomas Morgan - a character that is arrogant, forceful, antagonistic, and can't utter a single sentence without dragging in a heavy dose of sarcasm. He's tough, he's snide... and although he can be a veritable a**hole, his presence fills up the screen and the viewer can't help but smile at his audacity.

As for Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan who respectively play Jerry and Rachel, there does tend to be a lack of sparks between them, and although romantically unsuited for each other, they work extremely well together as partners in 'crime'... so to speak. Their relationship is totally believable because they don't come on to each other or attempt to insert romance into any of the scenes - what they share is a desire to find out who the woman is, and to stop her from harming Rachel's son. The writers did not linger on romantic intrigue, which is great because Shia La Beouf isn't all that good an actor when it comes to playing a tender-hearted Romeo.

All in all, a great movie - a super cast, incredible special-effects, an intense script and tons of thrills and spills... what's not to like?

 

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