Imagine his surprise when he goes to deposit his dad's pity check and there's an extra $750,000 in his account. Even worse, when he gets home, his apartment is filled to capacity with contraband guns, bomb-making supplies and government plans. He gets a call on his cell from a mysterious woman instructing him to leave before the FBI gets there, but he doesn't listen, unable to make sense of what is happening. The FBI do show up and capture him and he finds himself arrested under the suspicion of terrorism. The mystery voice calls him again and breaks him out of custody, orchestrating his every move.
Not far away, another person is being manipulated by cell phone. Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan, Made of Honor) is having a girls' night out since her little boy is on a train to Washington, D.C. for a concert in front of the President. She gets a call from the voice telling her to get in a waiting SUV and await further instructions. When Jerry is told to get into the waiting SUV and sees Rachel, he thinks she is the voice and she thinks he is in on it. Soon, they discover they are only two of the voice's many pawns in some grand and elaborate scheme to kill our Nation's leaders. As they elude the FBI by following the voice's directions, they soon realize that their every move is being watched by her, somehow.
FBI Agent Thomas Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton) is the Anti-Terrorism head honcho who is determined to get Jerry Shaw back into custody and find out what really happened. Mystery surrounds the death of Ethan Shaw and, at first, he believes the brothers were involved in terrorism together. As amazing events occur, he comes to believe something altogether different is at work. Together with Zoe Perez (Rosario Dawson), the investigating officer from the Air Force (of which Ethan Shaw was a member), they begin to unravel the shocking truth behind the events that have been taking place.
Yes, I know I am being cryptic, but I don't want to blow the plot for you if you haven't already seen it or figured it out from the trailer like I did. However, the chase and thrill ride that is Eagle Eye is a really fun one, especially if no one has spoiled the "twist" for you. Its fun even if you do know, though.
Shia and Michelle are great together. Toting guns, running through airports and fighting for their lives, they just have a real chemistry together and I thoroughly enjoyed them in this flick. There are a nice selection of special features on the Blu-ray as well. There are the deleted scenes, making-of featurettes and gag reel, which are fairly standard, but there's also a featurette on the technology behind the movie and how feasible it really is, along with an odd interview/discussion with director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia) and his idol, John Badham, director of WarGames. Its pretty clear that Caruso is a total fanboy when it comes to Badham, but it was cute and amusing to watch. The Gag Reel is absolutely hysterical and I have a new appreciation for Billy Bob, and there's an alternate ending in the Deleted Scenes, which is well worth watching. It gives a different feel to the ending and hints at things to come.
If you like action flicks with a technological or sci-fi feel, Eagle Eye is a no-brainer. I didn't cringe at the technology used in the film like I did when someone "hacked" into the lead actor's car in Untraceable. Ugh. Instead, I really enjoyed the movie and its premise and found it to be a great popcorn movie. If you have your choice between Blu-ray and DVD, while there aren't any additional special features, it looks far prettier and more sharp on Blu-ray and the surround sound really makes a difference, especially when cell phones start ringing all around poor Jerry and you can hear them all around you as well. Action flick lovers should definitely check Eagle Eye out.
