Post by BIGFANBOY on Sept 26, 2008 4:37:04 GMT -5
EAGLE EYE
Review by Gary Dean Murray
Shia LeBeouf has been called the actor of his generation. This young performer of Transformers and Indy 4 fame has been cutting a wide cloth in Hollywood. Some of his films haven’t been huge box office draws but all have had interesting performances by the young thespian. His latest is the political thriller Eagle Eye.
The film starts out with the US intelligence watching a Middle Eastern operation. No one is exactly sure but from the looks of things, we may have a major terrorist in our sights. When asked for a conformation, the computer can only give 51% accuracy on the target and recommends aborting the operation. The Secretary on duty (Michael Chiklis) agrees with the abort. But, the president disagrees and the target is taken out. We find out that the computer was right about the abort of the mission.
Shia LeBeouf is Ethan Shaw, a young man working at a copy center, gambling against his co-workers. We get the shortcut that he is a very intelligent man without much ambition. He gets a call that his twin brother has been killed. Attending the funeral, there is a rough sketch of his home life. The twin brother was a go-getter, a high honor student who worked in the military. When our reluctant hero comes home, his apartment is filled with military hardware and enough explosives to flatten a few city blocks. He gets a phone call that says he has been recruited for an important mission and that the government will be breaking into his apartment in a few seconds. Scoffing he hangs up the phone and government agents do break into his apartment, arresting him.
Michelle Monaghan is Rachel, a young mother with a talented son. The kid is to perform in Washington with his school orchestra. Mom can’t make the performance and the same sinister forces tell her by phone that she has been activated. If she doesn’t help with this plan, her son will be killed on the train.
Ethan, still in government hands, is broken out of his prison by some heavy-duty forces. All of these signs point to a very well connected intelligence running rough-shot over the proceedings. As these two finally connect and become agents together, they must also try and figure out exactly what is going on and who is behind all the intrigue. Eagle Eye becomes a cutting edge thriller with a techo theme. I really don’t think I’m giving away any plot points when I state that the film goes where HAL has gone before.
While the premise does seem a bit stretched, the action sequences play in a real fashion. There are explosions after explosions that seem on the set and not a part of a CGI mainframe. It builds a gut level of excitement as our two heroes fly to a conclusion that is a bit hacked.
Shia LeBeouf does some workman moves here, giving an every man spin to an extraordinary character. While he does feel grounded in a reality, there is no doubt about his almost super human abilities in some of the action sequences. But Michelle Monaghan is the true find in Eagle Eye. Her protecting hen role rings truer than all the other bits of character development thrown toward the screen. She finds the right beats in her acting.
Director D. J. Caruso does better with action sequences than with the more emotional moments. This film is better in fifth gear than in quiet beats. And even though he keeps up the pace, a repeat viewing will show all the flaws of the screenplay.
Eagle Eye is a summer popcorn movie that wasn’t released in the overblown Summer of 2008. It has more of a fall feel anyway, with some more intriguing visuals. Not a bad little bit of action and quite a bit of fun to watch.
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