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‘Eagle Eye' can't see past action, loses sight of plot

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Shia LaBeouf has certainly grown as an actor, from little brother on Disney's “Even Stevens” to lead in several action-packed thrillers and a role next to film legend Harrison Ford. While he is seasoned for someone so young, his career is still in its fledgling stages. He will most certainly make some stinker film choices - a pitfall that comes with acting popularity and enticing paychecks. His newest film, “Eagle Eye,” comes on the heels of the successful “Disturbia,” “Transformers,” and a debatably decent showing in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Though “Eagle Eye” packs a punch in the action area, it falters in credible storyline, among other things.

In “Eagle Eye,” two complete strangers - copy store clerk and slacker Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and paralegal, single mom Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) - become pawns in an elaborate game of cyber-terrorism in which their every move is closely monitored and their every action is dictated via cell phone and other modern technology - electronic signs, security cameras and digital video.

As Jerry and Rachel are forced into dangerous and illegal situations, they attract the attention of FBI Agent Thomas Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton) and Air Force investigator Zoe Perez (Rosario Dawson). This skeletal view almost sounds appealing, and sort of is, when the film's focus is on action, chase scenes and car crashes. But, when the focus switches to the story itself - a rogue government computer with a sinister mission - things get down right dull and asinine.

In my opinion, it is the string of elaborate, although absolutely unbelievable, stunt sequences that make “Eagle Eye” even remotely watchable. Were it not for these amazing and ridiculous stunts, chases and crash scenes, I would have been bored to death. In fact, one fellow critic fell asleep several times during “Eagle Eye.” This is particularly unsettling, given my assumption that the critic is most likely a member of the film's target audience - men.

I must praise - a little anyway - the screenwriters John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz and Dan McDermott and director D.J. Caruso's efforts to tell a tale based on a mesh of timely concerns - the roots of terrorism, the price of big-brother surveillance, the pitfalls of super-technologies and the question of who should decide where a nation's best interests lie. It is just that this crew seems to think that huge explosions, multi-car pile ups, gun play and wild foot chases are enough to make a film good. They threw a quality plot to the wind I guess.

It is easy to grasp the crew's plan here, the desire to bring headline news and real life concerns to the forefront, but “Eagle Eye's” implausibilities muddy the water so much it is impossible to care about its underlying message - who, or even what, has control of our country.

I am not even sure the acting is up to par really. There is little on-screen chemistry between LaBeouf and Monaghan, who have previously-proven acting aptitude, and for all the action, the pair seems almost lethargic at times - just moving, albeit sometimes quickly - through the scenes. Still, that said, in addition to the fast-paced action, Thorton and Dawson add a tad more credibility to this fiasco.

Ultimately, no matter how fun some action scenes are to watch, the predictable formulaic race-against-time thriller wins out. Dull and dumb triumphs over all. For mere moments in a tiny sprinkling of thought, the film poses concern about the newest technology being used to invade the privacy of its citizens, but quickly turns the big brother scenario into a silly and far-fetched chase thriller, in which a nobody slacker can find his inner mettle and save the United States from a cyberspace terrorist attack.

In this case the unseen enemy is a HAL-like (think “2001: A Space Odyssey”) in-beta national security supercomputer known as Aria, that has taken over, because its human keepers have been less than honorable.

The PG-13 film's plot is completely extraneous, its ending is just too familiar and the money spent, or should I say wasted, on over-the-top action sequences should have been spent on better, fresher writing. I am placing a D+ in my grade book. It isn't horrible to watch, but any intelligent person will be put off by the painfully stupid storyline.

For more of Laurie Coker's reviews and chances to win free movie passes to upcoming screenings, visit www.trueviewreviews.net.

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