Eagle Eye

Concerned more so with its anti-conformist subtext than characterizations, natural dialogue, believable Federal intelligence or developing subplots, Eagle Eye bluntly communicates its points of lost civil liberties, technological reliance and the social expectation of assimilation through blanket ideologues while keeping the tension high and the action pumping. It succeeds in entertaining on a visceral level through propulsive direction and an interesting concept but its tendency to treat characters and plot points like ciphers and morality devices is often groan-inducing and frustrating. For example, the central characters — Jerry Shaw (Shia Lebouef) and Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) — exist on the page mainly to hammer home the idea that solipsistic, artificial black and white guidelines are ineffective in given circumstances. Jerry has an identical twin brother who could not be more different from him and Rachel obeys all of the rules that society has thrust upon her only to continually get the crap end of the deal. While the idea of presenting good citizens who are negatively impacted by what is essentially a Republican dogma is solid, it would help if not every single line of dialogue was focused on this notion, and if some effort was made to present at least a partially naturalistic discourse. The plot of the film finds this pair of strangers targeted by a mysterious phone caller who has the ability to hack into every electronic device imaginable and manipulate a large number of people simultaneously. Through blackmail, the caller is able to force these law-abiding citizens to commit crimes and avoid the authorities in order to fulfil an unnamed mission. The DVD release includes three deleted scenes, which appear to have been cut for pacing, as they are essentially filler exposition, aside from the final scene where Jerry expresses despondency over being the inferior twin. Also included is a brief "Road Trip" featurette, which discusses location shooting and filming real car crashes.