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However,
as we approach the year 2010, the world is officially an iPod nation.
We live in an era where every aspect of your life can be controlled
from the palm of your hand in the tiniest of mobile technologies - and
more importantly - porn can be accessed and downloaded faster than you
can actually use it.
It's for this reason D.J. Caruso's (Disturbia) latest teaming with Shia LaBeouf is just that little bit more horrifying.
Eagle Eye
is a classic, big budget "race against time" thriller which follows two
unsuspecting Americans that are inexplicably drawn into a national
conspiracy by a mysterious woman they have never met, but who seems to
know their every move.
By the time they discover her identity,
they have become her unwitting accomplices in a diabolical
assassination plot - leaving them as pretty much the only ones that can
stop the worldwide excrement hitting the fan.
For those that saw Enemy Of The State
a few years back, this pretty much travels down the same path in terms
of tension and style (something Caruso has come under fire for lately
thanks largely to the fact Disturbia was a carbon copy of Rear Window) - and it's for that very reason that Eagle Eye is one of the better popcorn flicks of the year.
A
great cast has been assembled here, led by Hollywood Golden-Boy Shia
LaBeouf (there is something so "every man" about him that make him a
joy to watch no matter what he's in), with Billy Bob Thornton
delivering yet another spot on smart-mouthed-hard-arse performance and
Rosario Dawson doing her best as "the girl on the inside who is shocked
by what her superiors are getting up to".
While the film does
attempt to tackle the issue of the threat of technology (and, these
days, it really is a threat) as well as how moronic it is that the
Americans (or moreso the fools that have been elected in... I'm looking
at you "Pitbull with Lipstick") can make or break the world... there is
something all too "Hollywood" about this one.
You know the sort
of "Movies about Movies" which mimic the genre to point out the
ridiculous cliches that Big Budget Hollywood serves up (Tropic Thunder is a perfect example) - well this is the type of movies they are taking the piss out of.
I'm not kidding, there is a scene towards the end that will, for some strange reason, remind you of the episode of The Simpsons where Mel Gibson and Homer film a remake of Mr Smith Goes To Washington.
That said, Eagle Eye is still an extremely enjoyable movie.
The twists and turns are refreshingly unpredictable, the action sequences are spectacular (not since The Blues Brothers
have so many cars been destroyed), the pacing is fierce and the plot
doesn't get anywhere near as convoluted or under explained as it might
in the hands of a lesser director.
Well worth checking out, but probably won't warrant a repeat viewing until a few years down the track. DVD EXTRAS
As usual, the one disc edition is barely worth the effort when it
comes to extras. That said, this is the sort of flick that only
die-hard Shia fans really need to see plenty of extras for.
Included
on the two disc edition are a bunch of Deleted Scenes and featurettes
(the best being "Is My Cell Phone Spying on Me?"). The real drawcard here is the Gag Reel if only to see Mr LaBeouf in full comedic flight.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 60%
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