The latest actioner from Shia Labeouf has promised to be a satisfying thriller that will take our minds off of the worries of this world. What we get is a movie that not only has a soul but is simply overdone and not all that surprising but there are elements of this movie that are special and that make it watchable; one time through that is. The premise of this movie is stellar; as the preview showed us Shia walks into his apartment and finds a wack load of weapons and ammunition that was placed there and yes just in time the cops are there to catch him "red handed." What makes this special though is that a girl calls him on his cell phone telling him to run for his life. Now this girl does the same thing to Michelle Monagon's character as well and the two are forced to work together to figure out what is happening and how to fix it. Good premise right? The execution is rather lackluster instead of blockbuster though. The thrill of this movie is simply trying to figure out what's happening and for the first half it works well; there is suspense and excitement but as the movie progresses the lack of direction potentially ruins this movie. The major twist of the film is pretty easy to figure out; and this movie never tries to come up with new ideas it just tries to run on the steam of the twist that comes just about halfway through the movie and this makes it suffer. The audience is taken right out of it because we know what's happening, why it's happening, and how it's happening before the characters do; this is amateur directing. There is good in this movie though.
This movie has plenty of cheap thrills to make it fun; and Shia is very funny as he spurts out random lines that are funny and charming; seeing these two actors together is great but the director never utilizes the talent he has here and these actor's simply become puppets for this movie. It seems these characters are never paid attention to for the entire film until one moment where these two characters are stuck in a box together; we see a very special and tender moment that is emotionally charged and well acted. For the first time in the movie we care for these characters; just a little bit and that is what makes this movie bearable to watch. It's just a shame that this movie couldn't pack that emotional punch throughout the entire film as that would make this movie so much better and more memorable.
Overall this movie isn't brutal; it has moments with awesome action, creepy stalkerish type stuff, funny lines, and charming characters but the movie itself gives everything away way to fast and therefore it makes it hard to sit through this one without falling asleep. There isn't anything new and inventive here and quite frankly if you want to watch a better movie about this sort of thing; watch Enemy of the State . For entertainment, this movie passes, barely, and for anything more than just throw-away fluff, look somewhere else.
