The Shia LaBeouf Mystery Thriller You Can Stream On Amazon
As far as espionage thrillers go, there are plenty of big-name franchises that will always draw in audiences time after time. Hello, James Bond. How're you doing Jason Bourne? It's been a while, Jack Ryan. So many J's. Anyway, because of the bigger names and franchises that dominate the genre, smaller, one-off spy movies can often fly under the radar. And at a time when we're still waiting for some of the bigger blockbusters to arrive in theaters (looking at you, "No Time To Die"), there's never been a more opportune moment to scratch things off your watchlist.
Obviously, there are countless streaming services available, so to cut right to the chase, there's a mystery thriller starring Shia LaBeouf that's available to watch on Amazon. It's got a pretty impressive cast list, including the new Captain America himself, Anthony Mackie. And after the last five years of American politics, this thriller feels a little too relevant at times, as it has a sprinkling of "Black Mirror" to it.
But it's the dynamic between Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan that keeps this one moving, literally.
Eagle Eye is a great Friday-night movie
"Eagle Eye" follows Shia LaBeouf as Jerry Shaw, who finds $750,000 in his bank account after the death of his twin brother Ethan, a U.S. Air Force officer. But before too long, he's contacted by an unknown woman who pulls him into a conspiracy where normal civilians are being activated as agents to work against the government. Oh, did we mention that this unknown woman is actually a very sophisticated artificial intelligence with access to every cell phone, computer, and electronic device in the country? It also happens to be voiced by Julianne Moore, so there's that, too.
Jerry is forced to go on the run with Rachel (Michelle Monaghan), a single mother who is seemingly integral to the A.I.'s plot against the government. LaBeouf and Monaghan are just frantic and confused enough that it adds a sense of tension to the story. Don't get us wrong, it isn't surprising that it didn't win any awards back in 2008 — but as far as summer blockbusters go, you could do a lot worse. Empire Magazine's Ian Freer certainly agreed, calling it "A fun techno romp, mixing great bang for your buck with insights into the dangers of restricting civil liberties."
And yes, it clearly cherry-picks from a variety of classic mystery thrillers — but when it comes in at just under two hours long, "Eagle Eye" is a perfectly fun Friday-night movie.