Eagle Eye

Deep down, this techno-paranoia thriller wants to engage young minds with the notion that the all-seeing surveillance practised by our governments in the name of security is something that should concern us. All of which might be a worthwhile undertaking, if the movie itself were credible for more than a microsecond. Jerry (Shia LaBeouf) is just your ordinary Chicago slacker until his bank account mysteriously balloons, he gets home to a flat unexpectedly packed with bomb-making equipment and The Voice calling his mobile tells him he’s only got seconds before the Feds arrive to arrest him.

The Voice knows its stuff, and seemingly has traffic lights, the Chicago transport network, dockside cranes and every cellphone in America in its power. Hard-pressed single mum Rachel (Michelle Monaghan) is in a similar predicament, and soon this thrown-together duo are being ushered across America, for reasons that become clearer – but never make any sense.

‘No questions!’ repeats The Voice, and it’s good advice in the circumstances, as we wonder whether to laugh or cry at this cavalcade of contrivance. Distraction is provided by sundry car chases and explosions which would doubtless leave hundreds dead in the real world, yet here it’s izzy-wizzy pixel-land where nothing matters except the instant rush of faked urgency. Hollywood superficiality at its most mindless? You bet. But there’s also a puppy-dog doesn’t-know-any-better enthusiasm to this pacy fluff which means you can’t get that worked up at it. And FBI agent Billy Bob Thornton is worth the odd smile.