Eagle Eye Blu-ray Review

Eagle Eye assaults the Blu-ray format with a blisteringly good 1080p High Definition video presentation in the movie's original theatrically broad aspect ratio of widescreen 2.4:1. Detail is fantastic throughout, maintaining a Transformers-like level of pristine quality that only tends to be showcased by some of the biggest budget blockbusters out there. There is simply no softness or impinging grain, no digital defects or artefacts, and the rendition is outstanding. The colour scheme is quite exaggerated, in that Tony Scott style of saturation and futuristic hues, but it always looks good, the palette presented well at all times, and making for lively explosions and chase sequences. Black levels are solid and dependable, allowing for decent shadowing and some excellent night scenes.

To accompany the stellar video presentation we get a pretty punchy, intense Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix that is given plenty of material to show off its full technical capabilities. Dialogue ranges from the shouts and screams to the almost monotone of Julianne Moore, who provides the voice of the omnipotent woman who makes all the ominous phonecalls, and is given keen presentation largely across the frontal array. Effects are the real highlight, chase sequences, gunshots, massive car crashes, big explosions, ringing out around you and reigning thunder right down into your living room, bringing the action home. It's an enveloping, powerful mix, rounded out by a perfectly apt, fast-paced score which, whilst not particularly distinctive - or memorable - works well to add to the atmosphere of the hi-tech thriller. Bass is not held back either, and thumps around at all the right times, when vehicles are smashing around the screen or things are blowing up.

Surprisingly we don't get an HD-exclusive extras, nor even an audio commentary to adorn the disc, which is a shame considering all of the parties who could have shed light on the construction of this entertaining thriller. Instead we get a main making-of featurette, and a bunch of shorter accompanying pieces. Asymmetrical Warfare: The Making of Eagle Eye Featurette is nearly half an hour long, and covers all the main bases, from casting to the conspiratorial story and futuristic concepts. We get lots of behind the scenes footage and interview excerpts, but nothing really meaty is offered, the featurette instead erring on the fluffy promotional side, peppered with soundbites and back-patting. Eagle Eye on Location: Washington, D.C. takes a few minutes to look at the setting, Is My Cell Phone Spying on Me? spends some time discussing the nature of Government surveillance and its impact on privacy and Shall We Play a Game? has the director Caruso discussing his creation with fellow director John Badham. Finally on the featurette front, Road Trip rather pointlessly sums up the majority of the aspects already covered above, just in abbreviated, 3-minute form.

We also get three unnecessary deleted scenes and an utterly pointless alternate ending (which sets up an improbable sequel). There's a gag reel which offers up some laughs and clearly shows the cast had a great time on set (and made plenty of mistakes), a few dozen promo and on-set stills in the photo gallery and a theatrical trailer, all rounding out the extras.
Eagle Eye is a good, solid, futuristic conspiracy thriller, with a cleverly crafted and twist-laded plot than is unravelled at just the right pace to keep the viewer in suspense and the tension up. Another decent role for the upcoming Shia LaBeouf and a few familiar faces to pad out the cast, as well as a Spielberg-esque penchant for Big Screen destruction make for plenty of action and keep you entertained throughout. On Blu-ray, this engaging romp gives you just the right material to showcase the capabilities, the video and audio presentation near-benchmark quality. Only the lacklustre extras, that come in quantity but are not particularly good quality, let the side down on what is an essential purchase in most movie fan's collections - not a classic, but a classic piece of perfect entertainment.