Eagle Eye – Review

Reviews

It doesn’t take an Eagle Eye to see LaBeouf is a star.


Image Courtesy of IMPAwards.com

Director: D.J. Caruso
Notable Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Ethan Embry, Billy Bob Thornton

Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks’ effort to establish Shia LaBeouf as The Next Big Thing is kicked into overdrive with Eagle Eye. Try as one might to resist the string of LaBeouf vehicles thrust upon the general public over the last two years it can’t be denied that the actor has immense talent and charm. Better still is that he has a unique persona that seems tailor made to transcend genres when the time comes.

For now audiences will have to settle for above average action thrillers in which LaBeouf runs from robots, Russians, or “the people” with only his sarcasm to protect him. It is a testament to LaBeouf’s abilities that a film such as Eagle Eye would be a nearly unwatchable mess without his presence. He definitely has that intangible star-quality that Hollywood is always so desperately seeking out.

In Eagle Eye LaBeouf puts his skills to work as the estranged twin brother of a recently deceased minuteman. Ethan Shaw’s discovery that the top secret military computer program, ARIA, has become self-controlled and seemingly sentient leads to his death and the eventual involvement of his brother Jerry. After ARIA’s order to abort a strike against a target that is not 100 percent identified is ignored, “she” interprets the government’s chain of command as enemies of the state and mobilizes “her” plan.

Jerry’s purpose in the proceedings is the big mystery that viewers are supposed to unravel, so no further details will be divulged here. What can be said is that his involvement is relatively uncontrived, something that does not hold true for Jerry’s cohort Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan). Rachel’s connection is distractingly convoluted, even for a suspense thriller. Unfortunately, her story also ties in heavily with the ending, so it cannot be further scrutinized.

Typically, I would not keep so much of a movie’s plot a secret, but watching Eagle Eye‘s plot unfold is rather exciting, if a bit sloppy. The chase scenes are some of the most exciting this side of a Bourne movie because LaBeouf and Monaghan make the audience care about their characters. To paraphrase my basketball coach: a movie doesn’t always have to be flashy to get the job done as long as it has sound fundamentals. Eagle Eye won’t be changing the landscape of movies or anything, but because of LaBeouf it is pretty darn entertaining.

Ultimately, the purpose of Eagle Eye is to bolster LaBeouf’s resume, and to that end the film is very successful. Given LaBeouf’s previous work, that is not surprising. What is surprising is that LaBeouf is becoming the sort of actor that elevates the movies he is in. Without LaBeouf Eagle Eye would be the bastard child of The Matrix and Enemy of the State with the Galaxy Drive from Event Horizon as the villain. Of course, with LaBeouf Eagle Eye is still that movie, but less embarrassing.

FINAL RATING (ON A SCALE OF 1-5 BUCKETS):