Taken as a whole however, Eagle Eye certainly isn't perfect but it isn't bad either. Of course, there's a dud of an ending that follows the real climax in order to provide picky viewers with a bow on top of their cathartic package, but it doesn't hurt the final payoff too much. In the end, all the characters and their developed relations do eventually come to an emotionally engaging climax that capitalises on such developments with great conviction. As a leading man, LaBeouf still shows some restraint and doesn't ever quite improve on his less-than-charismatic performance in Transformers, but as was the case there, his small image often complements the scope of the movie. While his chemistry with co-star Monaghan is almost non-existent, the actor does well to cover up most of the holes in this mismatch, and in his character in order to make Jerry a sympathetic, but engaging persona to watch. So far this year LaBeouf has proved himself a highly capable performer, and Eagle Eye does well to showcase his talents here. Although the movie never transgresses beyond the rather a-typical successful brother/lazy brother aesthetic, the writing is focused and sharp enough to give actor LaBeouf enough material to work with. One of the script's far more successful elements however lies in the character of Jerry, and his off-screen relationship with his recently deceased brother. Again, no real developments or ideas are plugged in here for you to digest, only well established ones reiterated for your brainless entertainment. As far as science-fiction goes, it's standard thematic material. As such, the writer's lack of anything interesting to say becomes apparent after the first act comes to an end. Of course, it's not the most original of ideas, and the movie's script plays them as obvious as can be with no desire for subtlety at all. Through this voice, Eagle Eye delivers its main theme of technological sabotage and paranoia Big Brother with ones and zeroes.
What makes this feature at least a little more interesting than the cookie-cutter outline of thriller scripts however is that both these lead characters are being led on a mysterious journey across the country by a voice-on-a-phone who has access to all sorts of technology that governs our civilisation from computers, phones and TVs to billboards and alarm systems. Following meek photo-copy shop clerk Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) as he takes the road after being wrongly suspected as a terrorist by the FBI, Eagle Eye is standard political thriller material there's the hard-ass government officials, the misunderstood civilian who is inevitably on his way to save everyone, and the fragile love interest along for the ride in the form of Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan). In this regard, the movie makes for good popcorn watching, but not much else. Despite some major issues however, Eagle Eye still manages to retain a sense of spectacle, and the story, although mostly a science-fiction dud for the most part, does move forward at a decent rate. While these elements leave an experience that will always have you guessing as to where the movie is going next, the eventual climax of the film boils down to character rather than plot, and as a result of spotty characterisation, the film eventually falls flat. and for the most part, that is how the movie plays out.
Read aloud, the script could easily be interpreted to be a techno-phobe's transcription of a recurring nightmare the government tracking us all on phones, cameras lip-reading us etc.
Not much risk-taking is implemented here there are virtually no new ideas of any kind, and the themes present have all been battered to death in countless novels and films that have frankly done the job far more successfully. So despite some similarities, Eagle Eye at least delivers an experience that is refreshing, but at the same time familiar. No, it is neither creatively similar nor anywhere near the same quality. From the trailers I was imagining Eagle Eye to be a cross between The Matrix and Wanted, but it's not not at all. I think this is possibly the third film this year that has directly involved a higher power turning 'insufficient funds' into a considerable amount, and while this comparison is valid in a sense, that's where similarities end.