Movie Review and Synopsis Eagle Eye
Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan Take Viewers on a Thrill Ride
Oct 24, 2008
Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) are the unlikely heroes of Eagle Eye, an action based thriller. Drawn into a terrifying world of espionage the pair struggle at every turn to hang on, literally for their lives.
Hanging in the Balance
Early in the movie Jerry Shaw is painted as the loser: barely living in an apartment he can’t afford, working at a job that is going nowhere, a Stanford drop-out, and never as admirable as his twin brother Ethan. Upon the death of his brother who was serving his country Jerry visits his parents and they sneak a much-needed cheque into his pocket. When Jerry makes his bank deposit and tries to withdraw some cash he finds his balance is several hundred thousand dollars. Excitedly arriving at his small apartment he finds the room filled with boxes of guns, bomb chemicals, secret military documents, and falsified IDs.
As the shock is setting in Jerry receives a phone call from a mysterious woman with instructions to flee his apartment before the FBI arrives. Taken into custody with a huge amount of evidence against him Jerry’s life is thrown into chaos. When the woman reaches him by phone as he is being held Jerry obeys her instructions and escapes custody.
Meanwhile Rachel Holloman, the single mother of young Sam, packs her son onto a train to Washington where he is to play in a recital for the top members of the American government. She too gets a call from the secretive woman who threatens Sam if Rachel doesn’t obey her demands.
Department of Destruction
The ominous female voice brings Jerry and Rachel together and they apprehensively take her orders: evading the investigators who are after Jerry (including Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson), robbing an armored car, and infiltrating the Pentagon. As the duo race to follow their instructions the woman manipulates the technology in the world around Jerry and Rachel to watch their every move.
The cryptic voice turns out to be a government computer system meant to keep America safe by monitoring modern technology. The machine, known as ARIA, is bent on the destruction of the highest members of the US government. With safe guards built into her system by deceased twin brother Ethan ARIA must attain Jerry to complete her violent plans.
Beyond the Screen
With a stacked cast also starring: Michael Chiklis, Ethan Embry, William Sadler, Lynn Cohen, Anthony Mackie and others Eagle Eye brings together a talented cast with many veteran actors. Young stars Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan shine as the unwitting assassins dealing with very different personal problems. Though the technological capabilities of the villainous ARIA seem unfathomable the movie is no less thrilling and the idea that systems meant to help people in their everyday lives could become a dangerous enemy is truly frightening.
The ending of Eagle Eye did carry on a few short moments too long. Following a logical and more enigmatic finale comes a summarized message of the dangers of watching too closely and those of not watching closely enough that seems to play down the intelligence of the average viewer.
Reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey and other modernistic technological terrors Eagle Eye is an action movie that will entertain and excite. It will also have audiences questioning their dependence on cell phones….
