2/28/2024 0 Comments Eagle eye castThe film holds a big mid-story twist science-fiction revelation – that everything is being manipulated to a far-fetched purpose by an evil A.I.Īgain there is nothing here that is any different from the various evil A.I.’s who think they know better than humanity that we have seen in the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Colossus: The Forbin Project (1968), Demon Seed (1977) etc. Unfortunately, the only thing that propels Eagle Eye as a thriller is not its theme – which is handled in the most banal ways – but a series of moderately spectacular but mindless action sequences every few minutes – numerous mass destruction vehicle chases, shootouts, fights etc. Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan on the run from authorities It at least also features a 2009 future setting date and a malevolent A.I.). (Like Live Free or Die Hard, Eagle Eye counts as science-fiction if for dint of no other reason that it features fantasy versions of contemporary technology. Most of these failed to conduct their theme with any great effect and even less in the way of technical credibility – needless to say, Eagle Eye fails to improve any. Although, if anything, Eagle Eye reads like an updated and more serious version of The President’s Analyst (1967), or perhaps even more so the forgotten 80s thriller Access Code (1984) and WarGames: The Dead Code (2008), which came out a few months earlier. In his favour, Caruso has managed to get Steven Spielberg to sign on as an executive producer for both Disturbia and Eagle Eye.Įagle Eye is little more than a paranoia thriller about the dangers of the interconnected and/or surveillance society that we have seen in others films like The Conversation (1974), The Net (1995), Enemy of the State (1998), Live Free or Die Hard/Die Hard 4.0 (2007) and Untraceable (2008). Increasingly, Caruso’s films blatantly draw themselves from other people’s films – Disturbia so unoriginal it was sued for plagiarism by the author of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954), here there is a climactic scene that is directly copied from Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) as well as a variant on the crop duster chase from North By Northwest (1958). Caruso’s films cycle through cliche plot mechanics, which he churns out with no seeming care for originality or depth. However, Caruso’s films since then have been disappointingly routine, including the completely unconvincing serial killer thriller Taking Lives (2004), the dull sports betting film Two for the Money (2005), the previous Shia LaBeouf vehicle Disturbia (2007) and the subsequent alien teenager film I Am Number Four (2011), the haunted house film The Disappointments Room (2016), xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017) and the imprisonment thriller Shut In (2022).ĭisappointingly, most of D.J. Caruso’s first film – the stylish thriller The Salton Sea (2002), which alas was not a great commercial success. Having decided that the government is flawed, AURA has now taken it upon itself to remove them by assassination – and Jerry is a vital part of its plan. They and the pursuing FBI find that all of this is being arranged by AURA, the government super-computer designed to build profiles on the nation from electronic data traces and closed circuit tv monitoring. With them listed as wanted fugitives, the anonymous voice guides them to Washington D.C. It then arranges traffic lights, takes over the car’s cruise control and uses automated cranes to demolish police cars to help them avoid capture during a massive pursuit. It sends messages via other people’s cellphones and display screens across the city to direct him onto a train and to rendezvous with Rachel. The voice arranges for a crane to smash into the FBI offices so that Jerry can escape. Meanwhile, the same anonymous voice tells solo mother Rachel Holloman that if she does not follow instructions then the train that her son is in will crash. He fails to heed the warning and is arrested as a terrorist. Returning home from his twin brother Ethan’s funeral, he finds his apartment filled with explosives and weapons and then an anonymous voice calling him on his cellphone telling him that he has 30 seconds to get out before the FBI arrive. Jerry Shaw is an ordinary clerk at a photocopying firm in Chicago.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |