Review of Eagle Eye (2008) by Yash S — 03 Nov 2010

Action movies are based on one of two models, both delineated by the Scott brothers. One is the Ridley Scott model, where the world we see is defined by the visuals and sets, and the role of editing is confined to connecting the images and creating a proper sense of time. The second model on the other hand relies on editing as THE primary means of advancing the narrative. The world we see is far less well articulated because a shot never lasts longer than three seconds. The advantage is that it easily captures viewers who lack patience and who mainly want a thrill ride. This model was devised by Tony Scott and recently extended by Paul Greengrass.

'Eagle Eye' rigorously follows the Tony Scott model. How effective it is depends on how long the viewer is willing to suspend their disbelief for the sake of thrills. The intention is that at no point before the film ends should the viewer have time to question the plausibility of the story. It certainly works in that respect, although a lot of critics have stated the opposite. On the whole the execution is competent enough, if ordinary.

Oh, the villain. Someone finally got the idea of merging Skynet and HAL. Plus the dialog reference to 'North by Northwest', and a UAV instead of the cropduster.