Review: "Eagle Eye"

I know this is rather late, but I haven't had the chance to actually get to the movies for a while, but here is my latest review:

Shia LeBeouf (Transformers; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; Disturbia) is Jerry Shaw, a slacker whose twin brother Ethan (a military operative) was recently killed. Returning home from his brother's funeral, Jerry finds his modest apartment filled with weapons. A phone call from a mysterious woman (voiced by Julianne Moore) warns him that the FBI is about to raid his home. Thus starts a wild journey with stranger Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) which leads to a series of increasingly violent events, all tied to a conspiracy to eliminate the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government. Pursued by FBI agent Thomas Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton) and Navy Agent Zoe Perez (the always beautiful Rosario Dawson), Jerry and Rachel are forced by the mysterious voice to carry out a sequence of events beyond their control.

Director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia) keeps the action moving along at a nice pace, and the script (credited to four writers from an idea from Executive Producer Steven Spielberg) is a pulse-pounding rollercoaster ride. Incorporating elements from 2001: A Space Odyssey; I:Robot and Spielberg's own Minority Report, Eagle Eye is a slick thriller in the tradition of The Bourne Identidy and an action-packed adventure ala the Die Hard series. It features some the most intense chase sequences I've ever seen (in fact, I can't remember when I've seen more vehicles so elaborately destroyed on film) and some terrific performances from LeBeouf, Thornton and Dawson. The supporting cast (including Michale Chiklis) is fine and the paranoia about modern Big Brother technology hits all the right notes. My only real complaint is with the typical Spielberg happy ending. But overall, Eagle Eye is a decent thriller with loads of action sequences.

*** (Three out of Four Stars)