Ethan’s Eagle Eye Review
- Ethan’s Score : 4.5/10Alfred Hitchcock once said that to make a great film, you needed three things : the script, the script and the script. Eagle Eye is a somewhat noble effort. Director D.J. Caruso tries hard to make a relevant and exciting action-picture and the cast all do solid jobs. But unfortunately, the script is so amazingly dumb and preposterous that it nearly destroys and good it gets.
Shia LaBeouf plays Jerry Shaw, a slacker who undergoes some major drama when his twin-brother dies. Michelle Monaghan plays a character who’s name I have forgotten. But she’s a major MILF. Anyway, they get throw into a big terrorist plot…yadda yadda yadda. You’ve all seen the trailer. I don’t need to explain this to you anymore.
Eagle Eye wants to be a film like The Dark Knight that balances excitement and political commentary. They both even concern The Patriot Act. But Eagle Eye’s message pretty much boils down to nothing more than “TECHNOLOGY IS BAD AND THE GOVERNMENT SHOULDN’T SPY ON YOU!!!”. Another big hindrance of the film is it’s numerous plot-holes and implausibilities. There is suspension of disbelief and then there is this. If you want to come off as smart, then try and actually put some logic into it. Otherwise you come off as a special-ed kid trying to make a speech on the economy.
LaBeouf and Monaghan are both capable leads. But their dialogue is completely repetitive. Any real attempt at developing them come off as contrived and silly. Billy Bob Thornton is one of the best parts of the film. He’s very funny and adds his usual gravitas. But in the end, the characters never really feel real. Another problem with the script.
I may have spent the past four paragraphs bashing the hell out of Eagle Eye. But I will admit that it’s still very entertaining. But you truly have to turn off your brain to accept any of it. And this wants to be oh-so political and intellectual. Please Spielberg, before they use your idea as a movie, actually look over the script.
