Eagle Eye

Review by:  Mack Chico Date: 09.25.2008

Rating:

Eagle Eye has all the trademark elements of a box office hit: it is a a political thriller, it has action, car chases, explosions, sarcastic one liners, good acting and - the film begins with a great action sequence and ends on the same note. For a Friday night out with your friends, what else do you need?

Shia LeBouf has been Hollywood’s “It” boy for a year now and he has been delivering on the hype. With blockbuster after blockbuster, he is positioning himself as the A list actor of the future. Eagle Eye is his new Tom Clancyesque’ project about a kid who has been summoned to kill the president by a god-like computer owned by the government.

Even though the film is surprisingly good - Billy Bob Thornton deserves plenty of credit for that - expect the ridiculous and the absurd, a la Diehard. Most of those films were fun, in a guilty pleasure sort of way.

Nevertheless, some thought did go into the premise. Director D.J Caruso (Disturbia, Two for the Money) wants us to be aware of several key messages - to what extent does technology control our lives, the invasion of privacy by the government and the ineptitude of our political commanders.

Since most of us know how this is eerily similar to real life, the film serves as an inside look at how things would play out if someone had the “cojones” to do something about it. Eagle Eye is pure high-octane fun and exactly what going to the movies is all about.