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'Eagle Eye'

BY RAFER GUZMÁN | rafer.guzman@newsday.com

September 26, 2008

Nestled within the techno-nonsense of "Eagle Eye" lies a potentially stinging indictment of the Bush administration's aggressive wiretapping policies. Another example of Hollywood liberalism, you say? Actually, this lightweight thriller isn't thinking that hard. When the last bullet is fired and the last circuit fried, the villain here isn't Our President or even The Government, but that dependable old bogeyman, The Computer.

The hero is Jerry Shaw ( Shia LaBeouf), a Chicago slacker who is mistakenly targeted by the FBI as a terrorist. Meanwhile, single mom Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan) receives a threat against her young son's life. Both answer their cell phones to hear a chilling, female voice, and whoever possesses it seems able to jam radio signals, trigger traffic lights and flash instructions over nearby zipper-screens: "Jump, Jerry!"

It turns out these two humans are being manipulated by a government surveillance system named ARIA. She's a liberal's nightmare, a privacy-

invading Big Sister and, with her glowering red eye, a descendant of HAL from "2001: A Space Odyssey." She's also central to an assassination plot, retaliation for the president's ill-advised decision to bomb some Arabs.

Director D.J. Caruso keeps this hokum moving quickly, but he and executive producer Steven Spielberg tempt fate by borrowing - again - from Alfred Hitchcock. Their 2007 thriller, "Disturbia," an update on "Rear Window" that also starred LaBeouf, prompted a copyright lawsuit; this time, they swipe the climax from "The Man Who Knew Too Much," with LaBeouf once more in the James Stewart role. (At least they have good taste.)

The real fun in "Eagle Eye" is the setup, which features some crunchy car chases and introduces Billy Bob Thornton as a dogged FBI agent. The movie gets sillier and sillier, but remains enjoyable - unless you happen to be George W. Bush. Or a computer.

(PG-13)

PLOT A young slacker and a single mom are pulled into an assassination plot.

CAST Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thornton

LENGTH 1:58

PLAYING AT Area theaters; some screenings in IMAX

BOTTOM LINE Check your credulity at the door, and you’ll at least enjoy some high-impact action scenes.