“They changed every traffic light to get us here. The woman, she called me on a stranger's cell phone who happened to be sitting next to me - never met the guy in my life. And then they broke me out of maximum security custody in a way I'm not even going to describe to you because it sounds crazy, and then they lift us off the face of the earth and drop us into this shitpile. She could probably derail a train … she could probably turn a train into a talking duck.”
“Eagle Eye” looked intriguing to me in the commercials months ago, so when the opportunity came to toss it onto the NetFlix list, I took it. After all, it was billed as being “co-produced” by Steven Spielberg (which likely only means that he used the script as a coaster at one point) and it looked like a heart-pounding thriller. And for about half of the flick, that was a pretty apt description.
The first part of the movie features something like the headquarters of CTU gone haywire, with crazy-ass technology both enabling and battling political will. The plot circles around a pair of identical brothers, both played by Shia LaBeouf (you can laugh). Rather predictably, one is a sarcastic slacker and one is a militaristic overachiever. When his brother’s actions impact his going-nowhere life, Jerry Shaw is sucked up into a conspiracy-worthy storyline that evoked memories of the “Bourne Supremacy.” What ensues are a tremendous number of scenes that make you have to catch your breath, with epic car chases, lots of shit blowing up and bleeding-edge technology that makes your head spin.
Director D.J. Caruso begins with a tremendous premise, but some of the plot seemed a bit overly intricate, drawn-out and unnecessary. In some ways, it reminded me of the “Austin Powers” bit about “Why don’t you just shoot him now! I mean, come on, I’ll go get a gun.” At least LeBouef is solid (when he’s not getting DUIs in Yugos in real life), injecting a little humor into the Big Brother-like hyper-intensity of the film. He starts out on this venture involuntarily trying to vindicate his brother, but ends up on a quest to vindicate himself and his worth. Michelle Monoghan was OK as Rachel Holloman, who gets sucked up in Jerry’s dilemma, but the scene-stealer in this one was easily Billy Bob Thornton. As Agent Thomas Morgan, he uncorks a few stellar lines, such as, “If you're staring at me, it better be because I'm the goddamn suspect. Because if I don't get some good leads soon, you're all gonna be demoted into something that's gonna require touching shit with your hands.”
Apparently, many of the initial reviews centered around a feeling or perception that “Eagle Eye” was unrealistic. I admit that it was scary, but I don’t buy the unrealistic part. I’m sure this level of intrusive surveillance goes on to some extent already, and I know it was taken much further under the paranoia of “W.” It’s hard to debate the fact that the technology already exists, and while this film arguably takes it to a level that asks for a suspension of disbelief, it doesn’t take it far enough that it seems far-fetched. For some, maybe it is scarier to think of it that way and easier to dismiss it as unrealistic.
Now, where I can get on board with some of the critics is on the idea that some of the plot spokes never quite made sense. I think there was some measure of hiding plot holes with special effects, which is often the technique of a lazy director with a lack of respect for writing chops and an over-emphasis on the magic of effects. The movie was apparently released initially on IMAX, which would have been rather amazing for many scenes, including one set in a cornfield that brought flashbacks of “Se7en.”
The ending admittedly becomes rather cheesy, highlighted by a computer that is akin to HAL on trucker speed. Unfortunately, some of the late-flick decisions speed the degeneration of the movie in the second half and take away from what was, to that point, a very interesting film. And while the conclusion left at least me with a bitter taste in my mouth, there was apparently an alternate ending filmed that left open the possibility and opportunity for a sequel. If Caruso could find a way to make a second “Eagle Eye” that retains the intensity and intrigue of the first half of his first effort, he could be on to a franchise; however, the way he left “Eagle Eye” and the computer makes one think that a sequel would result in a big screen of death.
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