by AllisonMichelle

Created on: October 22, 2008

If you thought the Patriot Act was creepy, Eagle Eye will freak you out like a homeschool mom at a Justin Timberlake concert. Imagine someone stalking you not just on your iphone, but the iphone of the stranger across the bus. Or someone being able to control and follow you through everyday items like the microphone in your laptop, the camera at the ATM, and even from your voice vibrations against a cup of coffee.

If this sounds a little Big Brother (or Bush administration), that's because, well, it is. Jerry Shaw (Shia Lebeouf) is a semi-normal college nomad dropout living in the shadow of his twin brother, working at Copy Cabana, and hiding from his landlady to avoid paying those pesky rent checks. All too quickly that inevitable day comes where everything he knows is turned upside down. There is the obligatory car chase, pretty girl, snide remarks against the government, and the mysterious stranger ordering his every move. However, despite the clichs, Eagle Eye manages to keep viewers entertained and in suspense until the very end (where the hero also, inevitably, gets the girl and her too-cute elementary age son.)

Coming home from the funeral of his twin brother, a military officer killed in a car crash, Jerry arrives in his apartment only to discover that it has been filled with explosives and weapons. His phone rings. "Jerry Shaw, you've been activated. You have 30 seconds to exit your apartment before the FBI arrives," says a femaile voice. The FBI arrives while Jerry is freaking out and takes him to a high security prison.

Elsewhere, Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monoghan) is having a girls' night out (aka "man-hunt") while her son travels to DC to perform with his orchestra for the State of the Union address. Her activation call comes, her son is threatened, and she rushes to do whatever she can to keep him alive.

Sound clichd yet? It gets better. There's the FBI agent with a Southern accent who gives up his life for the country, the deadbeat ex-husband, the accidental villain of the government's own making, the inter-agency squabbles, car chases, et cetera. However, the breakneck speed of the action generally pushes the clichs to the back burner.

The action also saves the movie from its ridiculous plot. Between the drone fighter plane chasing Jerry through a tunnel or the power lines that fry people, a crystal that can explode a football field when a high "f" note is played and the government computer that develops a mind of its own seem reasonable. The action keeps the movie going to the point where the viewer barely realizes the absurdity of the plot until the end.

Lebeouf saves the character of Jerry Shaw from complete disaster, using his characteristic wit and snarky one-liners to break up the brooding dialogue. It's a shame that Eagle Eye did not utilize this side of Lebeouf a little more.

Monaghan's anxiously whiny single mom character became a bit grating after the first few eye-rolling minutes. The moment when Lebeouf put her in his place elicited little cheers from the audience. Unfortunately, the moment was quickly spoiled by apologies and hugs. The lack of chemistry between her and Lebeouf was enjoyable until they decided to share the obligatory awkward kiss at the end.

Eagle Eye, much like cheetos and Christina Aguilera, is a guilty mindless pleasure. What most critics seemed to miss (72 percent gave it a rotten tomato was that although
Eagle Eye is not groundbreaking, profound, or new; it doesn't try or need to be.

If you like complex plot lines with deep philosophical meaning, you might be better off spending the night with Hegel. If you're the type of person who can laugh off clichs and immerse yourself in the action, you'll enjoy Eagle Eye.

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