Eagle Eye (marginal Thumb Up)
This week for Thursday Night Movie Club we saw D.J. Caruso’s “Eagle Eye,” starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Billy Bob Thornton, William Sadler, and the voice of Julianne Moore.
This is a thumbs-up movie for me, but hardly a great one. The plot is kind of muddled and random, and the special effects are not as good as most recent thrillers. But the action is non-stop, the stunts are thrilling, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Plus Billy Bob has some hilarious lines. Michael Chiklis makes a fine Secretary of Defense, and Rosario Dawson is okay as a USAF cop, but she looked much better in her leather catsuit in “Sin City.”
A young slacker dude comes home to find his crummy apartment filled with high-tech explosives and weaponry. WTF? Also, his bank account has been inexplicably filled with gobs of cash. Clearly, he’s being set up, but by whom? An anonymous female voice on his cell phone starts giving him directions about how to escape the fuzz. He is reluctant at first, but soon finds that he must obey, or die.
Before long, he is joined by a young single mom, likewise being manipulated by the voice on the phone. The voice can apparently control just about everything: cell phones, traffic lights, power lines, construction equipment, airport baggage handling equipment, you name it. It’s a technophobe’s worst nightmare. Bring your tin-foil hat!
Why has this innocent man been singled out to do the bidding of the megalomaniacal voice? Well, we’re given a hint early on, but I won’t spoil it for you. I thought it was a pretty clever resolution.
So basically, go see it, but don’t expect “Die Hard” or “Transformers” level of quality…….Jake
Know that feeling all too well!
The article you published is always a surprise.