Eagle Eye

Reviewed by:
Eric Alt

Directed by: D.J. Caruso

The Skinny: Aimless slacker Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) returns from the funeral of his career-military twin brother to find his apartment mysteriously redecorated by Martha Stewart Terrorism—including maps, fake passports, and enough explosive to erase Chicago. He then gets a phone call from a mysterious woman and finds himself on the run with a single mom (Michelle Monaghan) whose son is being held hostage. They soon discover that the voice controls every cell phone, video camera, and wi-fi device in the country, so escaping Big Sister becomes a problem…

The Good: Eagle Eye starts off well enough: We glimpse the U.S. government's less-than-forthright anti-terror measures (instigated by Michael Chiklis as a hardass Defense Secretary) before getting drawn into Jerry and single mom Rachel's paranoid road trip, and everything chugs along at a good pace. Also, Billy Bob Thornton—as a no-nonsense FBI agent—is great, a mixture of icy calm and slow-burning "fuck off."

The Bad: Eventually, this Matrix meets Enemy of the State mash-up frustrates with both its inability to wring anything original from this premise and its progressive willingness to strain credibility. Not to mention that the "big baddie" reveal is a letdown. And since LaBeouf is in a movie every three weeks, we're realizing that there's absolutely no variance in his acting. His Jerry Shaw is no different from Sam Witwicky, Mutt Williams, or any of his other characters. He's solidly one note, but it's not that interesting a note.

Hey, Mr. D.J. We're not sure how or why Caruso did it, but he managed to find recognizable actors for even the most background of characters. Yes, that's Beerfest's Eric Christian Olsen in one scene as Rachel's ex-husband, 8 Mile's Anthony Mackie as a soldier, and Can't Hardly Wait's Ethan Embrey as Thornton's partner. Oh, and Rosario Dawson. And the aforementioned Chiklis.

Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? Since the movie theaters are pretty barren right now, this could suitably distract you for a few hours. But waiting is a solid option, too.

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