When an actor comes along like Shia LaBeouf, you find it difficult to typecast him. He’s got the boyish looks, and it seems like a beard doesn’t fit him. Movies such as Holes and the TV show Even Stevens give you the Disney label that artists such as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake have been able to shed, yet actors have struggled to get rid of that tag. With films such as Eagle Eye, Shia is looking to take that off completely by growing facial hair.

The US armed forces has a lock on a supposed terrorist in the Middle East, and the Secretary of Defense (Michael Chiklis, Fantastic Four) is in a pickle whether or not to send a missle. The President orders a strike despite only a 51% likelihood the terrorist is actually there. There are major repercussions to the strike, including numerous terrorist bombings.

We then come upon Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf, Transformers), a salesman at Copy Cabana whose brother Ethan who just died in a car accident. Shaw comes home one night to find numerous weapons and other destructive paraphernalia in his apartment. He gets a call from a woman telling him the FBI is going to be at his apartment momentarily, but he doesn’t believe her. The FBI shows up and arrests him despite Jerry’s pleas of innocence. He is interrogated by Agent Thomas Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton, Monster’s Ball), who doesn’t believe him either. He gets one phone call and tries to call someone, but the woman intercepts and helps him escape to Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan, Mission Impossible III), a single mother who follows the woman because she threatens her son, who is on his way to a recital in Washington, DC. The two move on together, running from Morgan and Air Force Special Agent Zoe Perez (Rosario Dawson, Rent) while taking orders from the woman. The woman is actually a super-computer. Shaw and Holloman try to escape from Morgan and Perez while trying to discover what exactly the woman is.

The film is a great show. I found myself scooting to the edge of my seat a few times. DJ Caruso does a great job with directing. Thornton does a great job in portraying the villain, and I found myself praising his performance in my head numerous times during the film. LaBeouf and Monaghan get along well, despite LaBeouf looking like a teenager with a beard. The cinematography seems normal for a film of this caliber. There are a few things that are not believable (one character gets shot 3 times in the chest yet survives). The set design is brilliant, especially the super computer.

This is a great fun film, yet will not win an Academy Awards except maybe for set design. That would do it justice. Thornton gives the only spectacular performance, but no one fails miserably. That’s why I give it a 

Grade: B+