Eagle Eye (2008)
Grade:B+
I’m sure I’ve mentioned this in relation to a supposedly “bad” film before, but whenever I get out of a film like Eagle Eye, I’m reminded of what Roger Ebert said about film critics. His job, he says, is to evaluate what a film aims to achieve and then evaluate how successful the film is at accomplishing said goals. I often remind myself of this credo at films like Rachel Getting Married where I objectively know the film is good even if I didn’t enjoy it or at films like Eagle Eye, where I objectively know the film isn’t very good despite how much fun I’m having.
Much like Transformers had a singular goal to blow shit up real good, Eagle Eye is simply in the cineplex with the goal of entertaining its audience. Though the film deals with government surveillance and the role of technology in our lives, I honestly don’t think the film has any ambitions to say something deep about these topics, so I don’t particularly fault it for failing to do so. What the film does do exceptionally well is provide ludicrous stunt sequences, fantastic action, a compelling central premise, and immensely entertaining set pieces. It’s simply great at being entertaining at its base level. There are no pretensions of high art here, so why fault the film for failing to deliver?
After a relatively pointless opening sequence, we meet Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf), a twentysomething fuck-up who works at the local Copy Cabana. His twin brother, some military type who is clearly the more successful of the two, is killed in a car accident. After returning from the funeral, $750,000 appears in Jerry’s bank account, as well as an apartment full of firearms and bomb-making supplies. He receives a call from a clipped voice informing him that the FBI is on their way and he must follow the instructions he is about to receive if he wants to live. Wuh-woh!
Similarly, single mom Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) is enjoying a weekend with girlfriends while her son is away on a school trip to Washington D.C. when she receives a call from the same clipped voice, informing her that her son will be killed unless she gets in the Porsche SUV parked around the corner and follows instructions.
Jerry and Rachel’s paths eventually meet and they are sent on a series of high-stakes excursions, including robbing an armored car, getting themselves onto an army cargo plane, evading a computer-controlled airplane that attacks them in a traffic tunnel, as well as evading various law enforcement agents (Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson) who are trying to stop them.
Simply from that plot description or from a quick view of the trailer, it’s pretty clear that this is the kind of film for which you have to check your brain at the door, something I was willing to do. Let me tell you: it helps. If you just sit back and enjoy the ride, it’s great. Throughout the various action set pieces and especially during the tense conclusion at the Capitol, I was totally engrossed in the film and having a great time at the theater despite my pesky Film Critic reservations creeping in. With a few hours having passed, I can totally see the common criticisms about the film’s plausibility. Yeah, the more you mull things over, the more the plot doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. We’re not talking about a plot hole here or there, but we’re talking about a film that is one giant plot hole. It’s the kind of film that gets from point A to point B very effectively in a way that immediately makes sense, but once you try to map the film, you realize that it does not in fact make any logical sense. There’s a much simpler solution for the problem that the voice on the other end of the phone needs solved, but of course, that simpler solution wouldn’t provide for a full movie’s worth of events, so the crazy complicated one is chosen.
Director D.J. Caruso rebounds from the atrocious Disturbia here, proving adept at staging a solid action sequence, and leads Monaghan and LaBeouf are both excellent, bringing more than just standard performances to what could have been flat characters. LaBeouf in particular is required to bring some Big Acting Moments concerning his brother’s funeral, and he pretty much delivers. He and Monaghan make for a compelling Odd Couple team, too, sharing a nice chemistry together and seeming realistically awestruck at the situations they find themselves in.
No one is going to accuse Eagle Eye of being a brilliant motion picture. And the film doesn’t make much sense from a logical standpoint (as soon as you think about all the trouble they went through to get that briefcase compared to what’s actually in the briefcase, the plot starts to derail pretty quickly). And the editing is overly kinetic in an MTV style that doesn’t allow for each edit to last more than a half a second. Part of me should even be offended because of how blatantly the film rips off 2001: A Space Odyssey in its general concept (though WALL•E kind of did that, too, and WALL•E is kind of brilliant). Despite all of this and despite my better judgement, I have to give my honest opinion: it’s simply grandly entertaining. I was laughing with enthusiasm at how giddy the film’s machinations made me, and in spite of how ludicrous everything was, the final sequence at the Capitol was actually genuinely suspenseful. Even though I feel like I have to apologize for saying so, the film’s worth seeking, as long as you’re willing to turn your brain off for two hours. For me, that’s not a hard thing to do, and especially with the help of Eagle Eye, it was effortless.
Bottom Line:
It’s ludicrous, bombastic, drawn out, unrealistic in the extreme, and lacking any sort of productive message about its central themes. It’s also, as my roommate so eloquently put it, freakin’ awesome. Check your brain at the door and Eagle Eye is a blast.
© 2004-2009 Ben Waldorf. Posted November 09, 2008. IMDB