CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 9/26/08

Surprisingly On-Target

By peter clines

Eagle Eye

Screenplay by John Glenn & Travis Adam Wright and Hillary Seitz and Dan McDermott
Story by Dan McDermott

When his overachieving twin brother dies, Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) finds himself framed as a terrorist and receiving phone instructions from a woman who knows his every move and seems to control everything around him. Now he and Rachel Hollomon (Michelle Monaghan), a single mom also being blackmailed by the mysterious woman, are on the run from the feds and following ruthlessly precise orders that are guiding them—and many others—on an unknown mission. Eagle Eye is a surprisingly fun paranoid techno-thriller that depends on a few archaic storytelling devices we rarely see in such films these days. Things like character development, foreshadowing, and logical plot twists that are essential to the script and not just there to be…well, random plot twists. At heart, the story is a twofold mystery, where part of it is wondering who has the ability to manipulate all this technology, but also why such an organization would select two people like Jerry and Rachel to accomplish their goals. It's only when these questions are answered that you realize how much set-up the writers have packed into their screenplay. While it's not flawless, and some of the logic may have you scratching your head a few hours later, it's still an entertaining film with a solid structure beneath it.

Eagle Eye
DreamWorks
Rated PG-13; 118 min.

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Peter Clines has had a lifelong love affair with the movies. He grew up in New England, where he studied English literature and education, and now lives and writes somewhere in Southern California. If anyone knows exactly where, he would appreciate a few hints.

Eagle Eye courtesy DreamWorks

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