Eagle Eye (2008)

(In theaters, October 2008) It’s rather telling that a technothriller like this one can slip so easily in the realm of Science Fiction using nothing more than a voice on the phone and some impeccable timing. It’s too bad that the nature of the antagonist will be obvious to even the dullest viewers, or that Eagle Eye never hesitate to indulge into easy clichés, but even those are small problems compared to the film’s inconsistent interest and forward pacing. For every dynamite sequence in the film (such as the escape-by-crane, the naval yard ballet or the Predator Drone chase), the script allows itself a few underwhelming moments that make little sense and rob the film of its impact. There is a lot of interesting material in the film’s justification, where automated systems take it upon themselves to respect a constitution ignored by its human masters, but all of it leads to yet another iteration of the old “sparking computers, last-minute rescues” clichés. It’s a curious grab-bag of contradicting impulses, and it’s perhaps more interesting to discuss than to watch.