The Eye That Follows

There are points in Eagle Eye that really test your suspension of disbelief. There are points in the film where even the most open-minded and accepting moviegoer will go “now hold on, I’m not buying that.” But even as the film forces the very limits of plausibility, it offers up enough excitement and fun to keep you in your seats; maybe even on the edge of it. While there are certainly flaws to Eagle Eye, humongous action scenes and great performances might just make you enjoy it.

Jerry is an underachieving young man who works at a copy shop and has trouble making the rent. Rachel is a divorced mother with a deadbeat ex, and she’s seeing off her only son, who’s off to Washington to play trumpet at the Kennedy Center. The two have no connection to each other, but one fateful day, they both receive phone calls from the same female voice, telling them that they’ve been “activated,” and giving them a set of very specific instructions. With their lives and the lives of their family on the line, the two are forced to travel across the country, being guided by what appears to be an all-seeing force, made to play out an elaborate plan. It soon becomes clear that a much larger conspiracy is at work, and the fate of the entire country lies in the hands of these two unwitting pawns.

There are four words that could’ve made this screenplay infinitely better: “20 years from now.” The problem with this film is that the second act sags under the weight of all the implausible happenings. The script needed some sort of out, a quick and dirty explanation for all the crazy stuff that goes on. What the script does is it tries so hard to establish that the people were relatable and real and normal, and that actually hurts the film, because it just makes it hard to buy some of the more improbable stuff that happens. You tend to give action films a lot of leeway in this area, but Eagle Eye just challenges you at every turn. The script also kind of suffers from explaining too much, but that’s already to be expected from big blockbusters.

Despite all that, though, the story mostly holds together, and even leaves some room for a bit of cleverness. The characters actually end up being pretty well developed, in spite of all the strangeness that goes on. The film also benefits from a couple of crazy, high-energy action scenes full of exploding things and crashing cars and generally fun stuff all around. D.J. Caruso turns out to be a pretty decent action director, and he has a pretty good grasp of what makes a set piece work. He really conveys a sense of speed and danger and movement, and that can really pump you up.

Shia Lebeouf has taken a lot of flack over the last year or so for his performances, but he makes up for a lot of it here. It still doesn’t feel like he really deserves the place he’s in, but it feels like he genuinely trying to get there, and he’s working hard to be better. I have proclaimed my love for Michelle Monaghan several times already. She is a terrific actress, and it’s easy to watch her, no matter what she’s in. Billy Bob Thornton is almost too much fun to watch. Michael Chiklis gets a pretty good turn in here as well.

Eagle Eye has its flaws, and some things just don’t work as well as they ought to. But when it does get to something that works, it manages to squeeze enough good will out of those moments to sustain you through the tough times. I do wish that the film ended five minutes earlier, with a gutsier, more powerful ending, but Hollywood is just the way it is. Still, Eagle Eye ends up being pretty fun, and you can do far worse than fun.

Rating: 4
Credits to: Clickthecity.com/movies