Eagle Eye

What’s the Story?

Copy-store clerk Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) and single mother Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) are mysteriously "activated" into a secret, illegal mission by a cell phone call. Neither wants to comply with the female voice giving them dangerous directives via phones and digital signs, but "she" has framed Jerry -- who's now a suspected terrorist -- and threatens to kill Rachel's son, who's on a school trip to D.C.. While Jerry and Rachel go around Chicago committing felony after felony as instructed, an FBI agent (Billy Bob Thornton) and Air Force investigator (Rosario Dawson) try to figure out why this seemingly normal duo have turned into super criminals.

Is It Any Good?

In an episode of The Simpsons, Homer says "I'm going for the Shia LaBeouf thing. Not quite a nerd not quite a hunk. Shia LaBeouf!" That's the perfect way to explain the curly haired leading man's "ordinary guy" charm. In EAGLE EYE, LaBeouf again does his thing as the wise-cracking Jerry. He and Monaghan don't create sparks a la Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in Speed, but they're likable enough as strangers literally thrown together who can't figure out what in the world is happening to them. Meanwhile, the impressive supporting cast doesn't have much to do except look surprised and angry. In addition to Thornton and Dawson, Michael Chiklis adds gravitas as the Secretary of Defense, and Anthony Mackie handsomely fills an Army uniform for the last third of the action. All are notable actors, but their characters are two-dimensional stereotypes at best.

Director D.J. Caruso channels his inner Michael Bay to fill this thriller with as many huge explosions as possible. The problem is that, unlike Bay's so-easy-a-caveman-could-follow-it scripts, Eagle Eye was written by four screenwriters. That's rarely a good thing, and in this case, the many twists turn one too many times, ending up in the realm of the completely ludicrous. Let's just say the terrorist mastermind is akin to a 21st-century HAL with a constitutional-law obsession. Confused? That's OK, because it's a muddled plot. But, look -- something else is blowing up!