'Eagle Eye' proves to be exhilarating adventure, despite flaws
By: Jennifer Conlee
Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: Entertainment
Despite the many implausible situations the characters were exposed to, "Eagle Eye," starring Shia LeBeouf ("Transformers") and Michelle Monaghan ("Made of Honor"), is the best movie I have seen this year.
The movie greatly resembled the novel "1984" in the beginning, though it quickly settled into an exhilarating, non-stop action flick.
Jerry Shaw (LeBeouf) is a young man intent on remaining second class. He's happy with his travels, his dead end job, and his low rent apartment he can barely afford. Then, his life changes when he least expects it.
When Shaw returns to New York after attending his successful twin brother's funeral, he is shocked to find boxes of weapons have been placed in his home.
Seconds later, a mysterious female calls him to inform him he is about to be arrested, and he should run.
Shaw soon finds himself at the mercy of the female voice who can contact him through marquees and strangers' cell phones.
He is thrown together with Rachel Holloman (Monaghan), another pawn in the woman's increasingly dangerous game, and together the two must race to save the life of Holloman's young son, their own lives, and ultimately, the lives of several others.
They find themselves on the run from the FBI as the woman instructs them to steal items, get mysterious objects through airport security, and board a cargo plane bound for an unknown destination.
The scenarios were unrealistic most of the time -- the woman has the ability to control everything, from cranes to traffic lights to military planes -- still the scenes flowed gracefully with nonstop chase scenes up until the climax.
LeBeouf and Monaghan worked well with each other. Their onscreen chemistry from their first hectic meeting until the final scene was fantastic.
The directors did well in keeping romance out of the movie. Unlike other recent movies, that try to combine comedy, romance, and action, this movie stuck to one genre, and that's what kept "Eagle Eye" from being ridiculous.
LeBeouf was able to stick his sarcastic jokes in periodically, allowing for comedic relief, without turning any of the scenes into slapstick.
Billy Bob Thornton ("The Astronaut Farmer") added his own flair to the movie as FBI Agent Thomas Morgan, who is sure that Shaw is a terrorist and is intent on tracking the young man down. He is often the person in the car behind Shaw and Holloman during the chase scenes.
Also starring in the movie was Rosario Dawson ("Grindhouse"), as Zoë Perez, the commanding officer of Shaw's brother Ethan in the Air Force, who wants to clear Shaw's name.
From car chases to exploding buildings and a foot race through an airport, the movie is full of captivating action that keeps the audience guessing until the end. I give the movie four out of five stars.
The movie greatly resembled the novel "1984" in the beginning, though it quickly settled into an exhilarating, non-stop action flick.
Jerry Shaw (LeBeouf) is a young man intent on remaining second class. He's happy with his travels, his dead end job, and his low rent apartment he can barely afford. Then, his life changes when he least expects it.
When Shaw returns to New York after attending his successful twin brother's funeral, he is shocked to find boxes of weapons have been placed in his home.
Seconds later, a mysterious female calls him to inform him he is about to be arrested, and he should run.
Shaw soon finds himself at the mercy of the female voice who can contact him through marquees and strangers' cell phones.
He is thrown together with Rachel Holloman (Monaghan), another pawn in the woman's increasingly dangerous game, and together the two must race to save the life of Holloman's young son, their own lives, and ultimately, the lives of several others.
They find themselves on the run from the FBI as the woman instructs them to steal items, get mysterious objects through airport security, and board a cargo plane bound for an unknown destination.
The scenarios were unrealistic most of the time -- the woman has the ability to control everything, from cranes to traffic lights to military planes -- still the scenes flowed gracefully with nonstop chase scenes up until the climax.
LeBeouf and Monaghan worked well with each other. Their onscreen chemistry from their first hectic meeting until the final scene was fantastic.
The directors did well in keeping romance out of the movie. Unlike other recent movies, that try to combine comedy, romance, and action, this movie stuck to one genre, and that's what kept "Eagle Eye" from being ridiculous.
LeBeouf was able to stick his sarcastic jokes in periodically, allowing for comedic relief, without turning any of the scenes into slapstick.
Billy Bob Thornton ("The Astronaut Farmer") added his own flair to the movie as FBI Agent Thomas Morgan, who is sure that Shaw is a terrorist and is intent on tracking the young man down. He is often the person in the car behind Shaw and Holloman during the chase scenes.
Also starring in the movie was Rosario Dawson ("Grindhouse"), as Zoë Perez, the commanding officer of Shaw's brother Ethan in the Air Force, who wants to clear Shaw's name.
From car chases to exploding buildings and a foot race through an airport, the movie is full of captivating action that keeps the audience guessing until the end. I give the movie four out of five stars.