EAGLE EYE

Starring:
Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Ethan Embry, William Sadler and Billy Bob Thornton

Director:
D.J. Caruso

Running Time:
118 mins

Out to buy on Blu-Ray/DVD 16/03/09

"Jerry, you have been activated"

When Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) returns home from his brother's funeral, he finds his Chicago apartment filled with weapons, fake passports, aeroplane flight manuals and bomb making materials. His phone rings and a female voice tells him that the FBI are about to storm his building and he has thirty seconds to escape. Meanwhile, Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) receives a phone call from the same female voice telling her that if she doesn't do as she is told her son, who is going to Washington DC for his first school music concert, will be killed along with everyone else on the train he is travelling on. The two are then thrown together and told to follow instructions to the measure as they are been monitored from every possible angle and if the deviate from their mission they and their loved ones will die.

Big Brother is watching has become a stable part of everyone's life but can the latest movie from producer Steven Spielberg make you even more paranoid?

Everything we do can be seen, heard or monitored in the modern world. We are constantly watched by CCTV cameras in all major cities in the developed world, our mobile phone calls can be intercepted and tracked and every text and e-mail we send can be monitored, meaning that we are never really alone. Well this is what the movies say anyway. If this was a fact, all criminals could be caught and crime, in the major cities at least, could be severely reduced. Of course, this is technology only used by the rich and powerful, technologically advanced governments and militaries and it could be used to make someone do something that they never even consider doing. This is the premise for 'Eagle Eye' and it makes for one for action.

Ever since George Orwell introduced the notion of a 'Big Brother' watching our every move in his classic novel '1984', the advances in technology have fuelled a number of paranoid stories of government agencies, the military or even individually having the ability to affect a person's life so much that they would consider committing a crime. Films like 'Enemy of the State', 'The Net' and even 'War Games', have shown the power of the computer age and 'Eagle Eye' takes this to the extreme.

Here we have a man, Jerry Shaw, played by Spielberg favourite Shia LaBeouf, just getting by, working at a photocopy shop and trying to get over the death of his twin brother. We also have a woman, Rachel Holloman, played by star in the making Michelle Monaghan, trying to raise her son the best she can with no help from the boys father. Both of these people form no threat to anyone but they are about to be activated and their lives put in peril. When you throw in FBI agent Thomas Morgan in the shape of the always-dependable Billy Bob Thornton, the excellent but slightly underused Michael Chiklis as Defence Secretary Callister, the beautiful and talented Rosario Dawson, the tension and action hit the levels you'd expect from a Steven Spielberg production.

The visual effects and action sequences are also of the highest level. The chase sequences keep the tension extremely high throughout and the finale, as the secret villain is reveals and her actions become more and more calculated, is outstanding and is only let down by a slightly rushed final scene.

'Eagle Eye' is a high-octane, high-concept adventure that is only let down, ever so slightly by the big reveal of the villainous protagonist, which brings to mind some of the fear movies of the 80s (you will understand when you watch it). This aside, this is still a high calibre action movie that tries a little too hard to add a story in there as well.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 1:85 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound.

BONUS FEATURES

Deleted Scenes (4.39 mins/High Definition)
Entitled 'Ethan's Wake', 'Minutemen', 'Twins' and 'Alternate Ending', these deleted scenes suffer from the lack of a commentary track or introduction to explain why they were removed or not used.

Asymmetrical Warfare: The Making of Eagle Eye (25.32 mins/High Definition)
Director D.J. Caruso, executive producer Steven Spielberg, producers Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci, director of photography Dariusz Wolski and stars Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan take you behind the scenes of the making of 'Eagle Eye'.

Eagle Eye on Location: Washington D.C. (5.58 mins/High Definition)
Director D.J. Caruso and co-producer Pete Chiarelli talk about filming at the Capital Building, the Library of Congress and the tunnels underneath the city.

Is my cell phone spying on me? (9.14 mins/High Definition)
Director D.J. Caruso, executive producer Steven Spielberg, producers Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci, co-producer Pete Chiarelli and stars Shia LaBeouf, Michael Chiklis and Michelle Monaghan talk about the amount of surveillance governments have on use in this modern technological age.

Shall we play a game? (9.22 mins/High Definition)
Director D.J. Caruso and his mentor director John Badham talk about their careers and the approach to making 'Eagle Eye'

Road Trip (3.05 mins/High Definition)
Director D.J. Caruso, producer Robert Orci, production designer Tom Saunders and star Shia LaBeouf talk about creating realistic looking car crashes and impacts for the movie.

Gag Reel (7.00 mins/High Definition)
Watch the cast and crew have fun on set and make a hash of their lines.

Photo Gallery
View publicity and behind the scenes shots from 'Eagle Eye'

Theatrical Trailer
Watch the trailer that previewed the film in theatres and on the Internet

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment for 'Eagle Eye' is one that fans should enjoy. The lack of a commentary track is a little disappointing and there are no real advanced features that you can see on Blu-Ray discs but this is still a decent package.

BLU-RAY

Enemy of the State

War Games


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