"Eagle Eye" is everything thats wrong with Hollywood

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Wow, so not to give anything away Dreamworks basically took a bunch of movies "2001", "The Fugitive", "Enemy of the State", some Tom Clancy stuff. Put it in a blender and came out with this garbage. I watched the end credits to see who wrote it and it took four screenwriters so I'm guessing one for each movie ripped off. Its a simple plot. Billy Bob Thornton plays Tommy Lee Jones looking for Shia LeBeouf a supposed terrorist. There's a girl cause he can't run alone. Why she's there is still unclear. There's some of the most obnoxious product placement ever put on film in here and one that just made no sense...

Spoiler:

If you're a terrorist that can control all the computers in the world why would you give someone two gift card to Macy's to change his clothes why not just turn the cash registers off like you did every other time in the movie? Also why give someone 750K out of a ATM then make a point to give gift cards to go to Macy's? Then say there are two gift cards for you

?

So yea, I'm guessing this movie will be number one at the box office cause we're idiots that like this kind of crap.

I really hated this movie. It doesn't even try to be original.

[The Bus]

Isn't there an Eagle Eye thread already?

[Gunde]

About that spoiler: are you fucking kidding me? That ridiculous plot point again!?

[NoirFan]

This film doesn't deserve one thread, let alone two.

[Zodiac_Speaking]

I was totally underwhelmed and pretty much agree with Ronnie Dobbs. The action scenes weren't longer than 2 seconds, very Bay, and yes, I was that bored in which I was counting the average shot length.

[riotinmyskull]

i'm going to have to disagree with the thread title...there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with michelle monaghan.

[KillerCannibal]

^ She just ain't that hot... IMO, of course.

I was contemplating seeing this tonight, but the bad reviews I've been reading have pretty much out me off. I was barely interested to begin with, now I'm just over it. Guess I'll finally see Burn After Reading instead.

[Mabuse]

Yes, Eagle Eye is far from original. But it's lack of originality stretches a lot further back than Enemy of the State. Enemy of the State was a rip off or The Conversation, Taxi Driver, Manchurian Candidate, etc.

If anything, The Fugitive is a defining example of what's wrong with Hollywood. It lead the charge (and was one of the first films to make a fortune) of adapting old television shows into movies. Why take the risk on an original screenplay when we can just adapt an old hit?

The problem isn't that Eagle Eye rips off movies that are less than ten years old. It rips off thriller cliches that stretch back to the 1930's. Check out Hitchcock's Young and Innocent or The 39 Steps.

[bunkaroo]

Well this saved me some money. I was actually fairly interested in seeing this based on trailers but it sounds like garbage so I'll pass.

[abrg923]

Yes, of course. A movie looks interesting, but why watch it when you can just listen to someone else's opinion?

[Dr Mabuse]

Originally Posted by riotinmyskull

i'm going to have to disagree with the thread title...there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with michelle monaghan.

Ahhhhh... Michelle. She's fantastic.

[droidguy1119]

The only problem with using The Fugitive as an example is that it's a particularly good movie. When we're drowning in crap and looking for something to blame, should we really choose good movies?

[bunkaroo]

Originally Posted by abrg923

Yes, of course. A movie looks interesting, but why watch it when you can just listen to someone else's opinion?

When RottenTomatoes is coming in at 25% at the moment the consensus seems to be the film is not good.

I would never go off one person's opinion alone, but in this case, where there's smoke, there's likely fire.

[bunkaroo]

Originally Posted by droidguy1119

The only problem with using The Fugitive as an example is that it's a particularly good movie. When we're drowning in crap and looking for something to blame, should we really choose good movies?

I think the point may have been regardless of how good The Fugitive was (and I agree it was great), the success of a movie based on a pre-existing TV property is what caused the trend.

Studios executives see TV show made into film = success when marquee star(s) involved, and you get an onslaught of crap films.

And let's also not forget the terrible sequel to the Fugitive. It's hard to empathize with a fugitive when the actor portraying him is so unlikable (Snipes).

[erlong]

Originally Posted by Dr Mabuse

Ahhhhh... Michelle. She's fantastic.

And an Iowa native....yessssssssss!

[PopcornTreeCt]

I liked her in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. In fact, everyone should see that movie instead of Eagle Eye.

[Suprmallet]

Agreed. She's uber cute in that one and the movie is actually good.

[Artman]

While this one passed the time fine, I have to say I left very underwhelmed. Absolutely no emotional attachment to any character or the story. Forget The Fugitive, this doesn't even stand close to Enemy of the State.

I found the editing to be worse than a Bay film. I at least see a method (and coherence) with Bay's madness... here I saw none. It came off as sloppy to me. I didn't hate it, but I don't think I'll be seeing it again.

[mdc3000]

I liked it a lot for what it was: ENTERTAINMENT. I thought the cast was great, the pace was quick and DJ Caruso brings some great style and skill to the picture. I thought there was nothing wrong with most of the editing, a few of the action scenes get a bit jumbled due to tight closeups but I never felt lost or confused. Shia is doing his thing well and I love Monaghan. The rest of the supporting cast is very decent too (Billy Bob, Chiklis) and even though you can see the plot twists miles away, I had a fun time with it... It's like Disturbia in that respect - you've seen it all before but it's all in the way they serve it to you that makes it worthwhile.

[atari2600]

Originally Posted by mdc3000

I liked it a lot for what it was: ENTERTAINMENT. I thought the cast was great, the pace was quick and DJ Caruso brings some great style and skill to the picture. I thought there was nothing wrong with most of the editing, a few of the action scenes get a bit jumbled due to tight closeups but I never felt lost or confused. Shia is doing his thing well and I love Monaghan. The rest of the supporting cast is very decent too (Billy Bob, Chiklis) and even though you can see the plot twists miles away, I had a fun time with it... It's like Disturbia in that respect - you've seen it all before but it's all in the way they serve it to you that makes it worthwhile.

i agree. it is what it is - a mindless entertaining action flick. its not going to win awards. people are so freaking anal when it comes to movies these days. yes, its not the best movie ever but if it entertains me for two hours, thats what i paid for - thats why i went. i didnt go expecting oscar winning performaces, emotional attachment, and perfect scripts. if thats what you want, then wait for only those types of movies and dont go to these (it was packed when i went though). some of you guys need to chill...especially this guy:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/34841/eagle-eye/?___rd=1

"Eagle Eye" is a major disappointment, taking a topical (albeit heightened to a comical degree) technological subject and turning it into action pabulum for a saturated market.

are you kidding me? its a freaking popcorn action flick... looks like someone loves the thesaurus function on word.

[PopcornTreeCt]

"You've changed things...forever. There's no going back." Sorry, Mr. Nolan, the studios will still churn out mindless popcorn action flicks.

Eagle Eye is everything that's wrong. Every film should be Oscar worthy. Even the summer blockbusters.

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Originally Posted by atari2600

i agree. it is what it is - a mindless entertaining action flick. its not going to win awards. people are so freaking anal when it comes to movies these days. yes, its not the best movie ever but if it entertains me for two hours, thats what i paid for - thats why i went. i didnt go expecting oscar winning performaces, emotional attachment, and perfect scripts. if thats what you want, then wait for only those types of movies and dont go to these (it was packed when i went though).

this is the problem with moviegoers today. Medocrity is accepted and rewarded. Why go see a movie that may leave you wondering or challenging you mind a little when you can see the same recycled predictable garbage you've seen twenty times before? I'm glad you liked i though because artistic integrity is no longer a value in filmmaking its all about what the box office numbers are. Dreamworks/Paramount appreciates your money.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt

Every film should be Oscar worthy. Even the summer blockbusters.

Sure. I'll just set my time machine for 1970-something, and away we go!

[Giles]

Originally Posted by mdc3000

I liked it a lot for what it was: ENTERTAINMENT. I thought the cast was great, the pace was quick and DJ Caruso brings some great style and skill to the picture. I thought there was nothing wrong with most of the editing, a few of the action scenes get a bit jumbled due to tight closeups but I never felt lost or confused. Shia is doing his thing well and I love Monaghan. The rest of the supporting cast is very decent too (Billy Bob, Chiklis) and even though you can see the plot twists miles away, I had a fun time with it... It's like Disturbia in that respect - you've seen it all before but it's all in the way they serve it to you that makes it worthwhile.

I agree, it was mindless fun, the plausibility factor was -10. But hey I really didn't care. As you noted the cast worked for me.

[mdc3000]

I'm really surprised at the amount of venom you're slinging at this movie Ronnie... yeah, it's got issues but I've seen at least a dozen movies WAY worse, with less artistic integrity etc. than Eagle Eye... A lot of movies lift ideas from other sources and repurpose them into something else... I love movies that are challenging and make you think - but sometimes after a long day, you just want to relax and be entertained - Eagle Eye is a great way to do that.