Eagle Eye
Directed by D.J. Caruso, DreamWorks*
Reviewed by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it HSO Contributor
Under the guiding eye of executive producer Steven Spielberg, Disturbia director D.J. Caruso and Shia LaBeouf reteam for Eagle Eye, a techno-paranoid thriller built around a convoluted domestic terror plot. Cars, Hitchcock homages, and logical improbabilities fly fast, but the film's message is nowhere near as complicated as its storyline.
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Eagle Eye opens in familiar military thriller territory: an underground war room tracking a suspected terrorist. But getting a positive ID proves difficult, and the Department of Defense's sophisticated computer system recommends the mission be aborted due to insufficient intelligence. This recommendation is ignored however, and when it's subsequently revealed a civilian-filled funeral has been bombed instead of the correct target, it sets off a series of retaliatory attacks aimed at the United States.
From there, the film jumps to the slacker Jerry (LaBeouf) and single mom Rachel (Michelle Monaghan), two complete strangers who have both been enlisted against their will in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game by a phone call from a mysterious female voice (an uncredited Julianne Moore). This, amid ominous warnings from a CNN broadcast about "Big Brother" eavesdropping on the general public via their electronic devices. Having been framed as terrorists in order to ensure their compliance, Jerry and Rachel must follow the woman's turn-by-turn (and increasingly and unnecessarily dangerous) directions, delivered via strangers' cell phones, available LED screens and other various electronics. Meanwhile, Joint Terrorism Task Force agents (led by Billy Bob Thornton, playing the role with requisite gruffness) are hot on their trail.
Before long however, Jerry and Rachel discover the voice on the other end of the line isn't human, it's really a 2001-esque supercomputer developed by the government to monitor social networks, email, and cell phones in order to perform personality profiles on potential terrorists and predict possible patterns and movements. ARIA, as it's called, is the ultimate Big Brother -- or in this case, Big Sister. Using Section 216 of the Patriot Act (which expanded the government's authority to obtain pen registers and trap and trace orders) to carry out its actions and the Constitution to rationalize them, ARIA has determined that the Executive Branch has become a threat to US citizens following its decision to disregard the computer's earlier abort recommendation -- but apparently thinks nothing of the significant collateral damage its own actions cause.
But where the first half of Eagle Eye focuses largely on government response to domestic terror issues, the second half is decidedly more interested in techno-paranoia, and the resulting mix is far from balanced. ARIA's decision to mask her coup as domestic terrorism then becomes little more than an opportunistic and mildly ironic cover, and the Patriot Act merely the most convenient -- if not entirely logical -- explanation for her ludicrously omnipotent powers.
This concern over our heavy reliance on technology goes hand in hand with the fear of said technology subsequently being used against us. From the highly-successful Terminator franchise to the aforementioned 2001, this is well-worn science fiction territory, a genre where awe and fear of technology often goes hand in hand. When viewed through a homeland security prism, the intended political allegory here is fairly obvious. But just so it's completely clear, Michael Chiklis' character explicitly states it at the end of the film: the events that transpired should serve to remind us that sometimes the very measures put in place to safeguard our liberty become threats to liberty itself. The political message is rather elementary (unchecked power is extremely susceptible to misuse, no matter how ostensibly "pure" the motives may be), but it gets somewhat lost amidst all the sensory-assaulting chase scenes.
When Eagle Eye works best is as a straightforward action thriller, when the political commentary takes a backseat to the film's creepy initial conceit -- a mysterious stranger directing two ordinary individuals' every movement remotely and omnisciently. As a result, the film's first half is engrossing and engaging, but grows significantly less so the more the plot's curtain is lifted. Director Caruso smartly keeps the pacing fast enough to distract from the film's myriad question marks but even so, Eagle Eye eventually collapses under the weight of its logical inconsistencies.
The HSO Takeaway: A mildly enjoyable if not especially clever action thriller, homeland security professionals and general viewers will like Eagle Eye more for the fleeting adrenaline rushes it offers than the obvious political concerns it superficially addresses. However, the more critically-minded viewer may find it difficult to navigate through Eagle Eye's convoluted web of plot holes and questionable movie logic.
*Eagle Eye can be found on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as a Special Edition Two Disc set.
Rick Mele is an entertainment writer who has covered film festivals and all things film-related for a variety of online publications. He is also the creator and editor of the short-form review website Films in 6 Words.
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