26 September 2008. Before I would have seen this movie, I would have paused to wonder how the scriptwriter took a classic such as "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) or popular movie such as "War Games" (1983), "Enemy of the State," (1998), and even a movie such as Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) based on D.F. Jone's novel "Colossus," or "Demon Seed" (1977) based on Dean R. Koontz's novel and made it into an horror/action/thriller that uses more artificial plot devices to keep the movie moving than almost any movie I've seen. The two-thirds of the movie was unbelievably frustratingly impossible plausibility of what was happening or even worse how the heroes somehow even survive into the second half of the movie. The movie has some suspense, jiggly camera work that attempts to make the action look cool but doesn't. There are a few dialogue gems, bits of humor as well as some decent plot scenes but they can't substitute for a consistent, entertaining movie experience. By the last third of the movie when the action and tension begin to come together with some decency, the typical American ending comes home in style deflating the emotional impact of the finale. Six out of Ten Stars.

Eagle Eye is the second outing for D.J. Caruso and Shia 'every role I play is the same' LaBeouf. The first was a modernizing version of Rear Window, the average Disturbia. This time around they both are playing on a bigger scale. More action, more special effects, more of the same stuff we've seen before. Eagle Eye is a run of the mill action thriller flick that tries to be bigger then it actually is. The way the film plays out, I expected some big conspiracy theory, and was let down by the route they decided to go.

I took a stab at LaBeouf earlier saying he plays the same role over and over. A trouble young teen or adult that screams at people while he runs around. Crystal Skull, Transformers 1 and 2 and now Eagle Eye. I don't see a difference between any of these characters, but maybe the script never calls for one. He needs to break out of his current state and try something different. Or maybe that's beyond his acting abilities? Sadly, I do find him entertaining to some degree. But if he doesn't change it up, it will go stale quickly.

Monaghan plays the female lead and does the same as LaBeouf. The difference is that she has kid and that's the excuse for her being here. Do this or the kid dies mumbo-jumbo. Until the end reveals that it's all a part of this elaborate plan to do something pretty simple. This leads into a problem I have with this film. Everything is so elaborate to the point that things just don't make sense.

Operation Guillotine was put into effect regardless of the lockdown. Did the computer know that she will succeed in getting everybody into their place at the exact right time for the assassination to take place? Seems pretty far fetched, even for a so called super-computer. The crystal got to it's place before Jerry could give the voice authorization.

Some scenes were really ridiculous, such as the electrical wires killing the one guy in the Se7en location rip-off and the way the voice helps them get away every single time. Yet that seems to be the whole point of the film and why people are going to want to see it. The chase scenes are thrilling, to a point, then it becomes tedious. Billy Bob Thorton's appearance is random, doesn't seem natural and his character transition doesn't seem real. Dawson plays the role of the one cop who suspects something is up. Again nothing new.

Eagle Eye is generic and nothing that you need to see. I'd go as far as saying it's a rental on a rainy day. It's shot well and Caruso does have an eye for some suspense. Yet as a whole the film fails to deliver on a grand spectacle that it wants to. It seems to be about bigger things than it actually is, which makes it pretty empty inside. I could care less about the people involved or the events that take place.

...though if I'd been watching it in a poorer mood, I'd probably downgrade "Eagle Eye" to a "4" (or less) just for the sheer stupidity of its four-author screenplay (which, as I'm sure even IMDbers know, is usually a dead giveaway for celluloid--sorry, digital--crapola of the worst order).

Two reluctant "heroes," an under-achieving twin (Shia "Transformers" LaBeouf) and a milf-with-adorable-kid (Michelle "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" Monaghan), along with various other supernumeraries, are recruited and manipulated by an unseen and apparently omniscient female operative into escaping an FBI dragnet in order to bring about the complete destruction of the U.S. government. Wow! The revelation of this operative's identity is no real surprise, though many viewers may consider the stupidity of the scenario to be surprising. This is strictly keep-your-brain-in-the-off-position film-making. Lots of chases and crashes, plenty of pseudo-clever dialogue, and tons of I-can't-believe-they-want-me-to-take-this-seriously acting by not only the two leads, but numerous "name" supporting actors as well, none of whom advance their careers in the slightest (I hope their paychecks were reward enough).

I really can't dignify this garbage with any more of my time. The less you pay to see this one, the more you'll realize how little you got for your money. This is time-wasting entertainment at its Menckenian finest; Hollywood will, indeed, never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public, especially the young ones.