ROTTEN TOMATOES: Critics Consensus: Eagle Eye Doesn't Soar, St. Anna No Miracle Comments

Critics Consensus: Eagle Eye Doesn't Soar, St. Anna No Miracle

by RT Staff | September 25, 2008

Summary

This week at the movies, we've got middle-aged love (Nights in Rodanthe, starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane); techno terror (Eagle Eye, starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan); World War II heroics (Miracle at St. Anna, starring Derek Luke); and a forlorn fireman (Fireproof, starring Kirk Cameron). What do the critics have to say? Back to Article

(1-33 of 33 posts) | Reply

man in the water writes:
on Sep 25 2008 07:06 PM

Fireproof: 7%
Shocked that St. Anna and Eaagle Eye are so poorly received. will be seeing St. Anna tomorrow , and Eagle Eye on Saturday, I kind of want to see Rodanthe as well but that might have to wait two weeks. ONE WEEK UNTIL BLINDNESS! FINALLY!

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Speaker for the Films writes:
on Sep 25 2008 07:50 PM

Fireproof 18%

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stg writes:
on Sep 25 2008 08:38 PM

Its ironic that even in the negative reviews the critics mostly agree that eagle eye although not original but is still entertaining, which is the whole point to begin with, caruso has already said its a pop corn flick. I for one am sick of the critics pretentious a s s ness. Nobody is asking you guys to shiver every time your phone rings, not every movie has to be a political statement or a social commentary, movies at there core are meant to entertain, If I want to get tense and depressed I can always watch the news.

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SplendidIsolation writes:
on Sep 25 2008 08:44 PM

Fireproof-15%

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RE4P3R writes:
on Sep 25 2008 08:55 PM

I will be chucking out a few bucks for Miracle at St. Anna this Saturday.

Fireproof - 22%

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kawelch writes:
on Sep 25 2008 09:18 PM

OK... so left behind pulled a 12%... Fireproof is the 4th movie in the series...12/4 = 3% or am i being generous?

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sunsaz writes:
on Sep 25 2008 10:25 PM

Guess that goes to prove that WWII movies don't make for automatic hits. As for Eagle Eye, any movie whose advertising campaign resorts to using college bookstores (such as mine) probably isn't going to do very well.

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CaptainSiberia writes:
on Sep 25 2008 11:09 PM

"I'm Matt Atchity, and I'm panned hard-right." "And I'm Jen Yamato, and I'm panned hard-left."

Down to just two people. This might pay off.

You've still got to work on the aspect ratio thing. It's not that hard, you guys. You can do it.

And then your panning changes as you turn and get picked up by Jen's mic. Just do it in mono, guys! Nothing wrong with that!

Wonder if there will ever be a paradigm shift away from movies and toward miniseries that will allow complex stories to be told in rich detail. I think I might like that.

I always pronounced his name Shee-uh Luh-boof. That's right! Disturbia! It's like Rear Window, only stupid! Hitchcock meets Michael Bay? I'll buy that for a dollar! (For non-Robocop fans: I'm saying I'll believe it.) Did anyone expect it not to suck? Here's a clue for you all: sucky people make sucky movies.

Nights in Rodanthe? Any relation to Godzilla Meets Rodanthe?

I did not miss Gabi. But you still need a firey, outspoken person to just come in there and rip bad movies to shreds. You need a card. See if Will Ferrell is available.

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vballs9er writes:
on Sep 25 2008 11:21 PM

In reply to this comment (#2046555)
You might just be a genious! I can't believe you got a "Robocop" reference in there. I'm honestly impressed.

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kaitune writes:
on Sep 26 2008 12:57 AM

Fireproof = 8% (Just randomly guessing)

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susan08 writes:
on Sep 26 2008 03:09 AM

The hollywood palyboy was found to appear on a tall dating club __tallchat.com___ where hollywood star Julia Louis-Dreyfus found some dates with bsktball players. I've been there for days, it seems the girls are not hard to hook up.

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susan08 writes:
on Sep 26 2008 03:11 AM

The hollywood palyboy was found to appear on a tall dating club __tallchat...com___ where hollywood star Julia Louis-Dreyfus found some dates with bsktball players. I%u2019ve been there for day, it seems the girls are not hard to hook up.

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Sulaco2k writes:
on Sep 26 2008 03:44 AM

Choke looks to be the only thing worth seeing this weekend.

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Ghenghis writes:
on Sep 26 2008 04:44 AM

lol no captions for the images this time? :)

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HyperionChild writes:
on Sep 26 2008 04:59 AM

You are so right Ghenghis. Let me try some:
Picture One: "These Cialis once-a-day tablets are great, honey!"
Picture Two: "What the hell do you mean, I'm no Will Smith????"
Picture Three: "Obama for President, m*****f*****s!!!!"

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Drunken Mastermind writes:
on Sep 26 2008 05:19 AM

Wow, the Fall films so far have been disappointing. I figured "Eage Eye" would at least be passable, but I thought "Miracle at St. Anna" would be really good. Bummer. I also thought "Choke" would be really good to.. Geez...

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Random_Jake writes:
on Sep 26 2008 07:47 AM

Why can't christians just make a good movie? There are capable christian filmmakers but they all seem to think they can't just make a good movie that interests the whole audience.

Fireproof - 27%

Is Choke supposed to be funny? Because it looks like every other sex obsessed flick being released this year.

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stevegilpin writes:
on Sep 26 2008 08:48 AM

Spike Lee's joints sometimes have a "creeper" effect...they take a little while to sink in, if you know what I mean. I thought Summer of Sam was an absolutely brilliant depiction of mass-paranoia and fear, yet the critics didn't like it a whole lot....I'm not sure what percentage it got on the tomatometer, but I remember it being not too well-received. Miracle at St. Anna has a great cast, a great theme, and is probably much better than the critics are giving it credit for....but that's all speculation...oh, well!

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Matanuki writes:
on Sep 26 2008 09:09 AM

In reply to this comment (#2046910)
Choke, the book, was and is hilarious. The movie, I suppose, is supposed to be as well. Scratch that, it definitely is if they followed the book as well as Fincher followed Fight Club. Of course, that's my unqualified opinion since I haven't seen Choke yet. Can't wait thought. Ditto that for Miracle at St. Anna. I'll probably wait for Eagle Eye to come out on dvd, that is, of course, if my lady doesn't leverage her affections to get me in the theater for it. It's worked before. :-/

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~*Admiral Snowstorm*~ writes:
on Sep 26 2008 01:17 PM

Fireproof: 11%

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Sep 26 2008 01:25 PM

Did you guys change the font or something?
My Eyes! My Eyes!

or is it. . .

. . . BLINDNESS (coming soon to theater near you)

I'm going to be seeing Choke in a few hours. I'm surprised it's opening in 2 theaters near me.

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AnthonyDidge writes:
on Sep 26 2008 01:39 PM

In reply to this comment (#2047505)
It's not opening at any theater near me dammit!

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CaptainSiberia writes:
on Sep 26 2008 01:41 PM

In reply to this comment (#2046451)
Maybe the critics have seen movies that aspire to do the same things Eagle Eye does and do those things much better. Ever think of that? Maybe movies like Eagle Eye are a dime a dozen, and the critics prefer something like La Femme Nikita or Leon The Professional. Or Robocop. Maybe Eagle Eye is entertaining but not especially entertaining, and maybe there were a lot of stupid scenes that were groan-inducing. Maybe you should argue the value of the movie instead of attacking the critics.

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dahluzz writes:
on Sep 26 2008 01:45 PM

In reply to this comment (#2046451)
have to disagree. i don't think the main point of movies is to entertain, I think it's to tell a good story. that said, it seems like 'eagle eye' just doesn't have that great a plot. it's basically 'the game' meets 'enemy of the state.' with texting.

apparently it suffers from shakey-cam syndrome during the overwrought action sequences and doesn't really leave any sort of impression. If I was reading that it's dumb but the action is spot-on, that would be reason enough to turn off my brain for an evening and enjoy. However, if the camerawork is gonna nauseate me and the story lacks originality and drive, what motivation do i have to see such an action movie (especially one starring mutt lagoof)?

my point is that things going boom doesn't necessarily qualify as entertainment, even if there is sufficient on-screen calamity enough to not get bored while it flashes in front of you.

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hatingvindiesel writes:
on Sep 26 2008 03:35 PM

Fireproof: 5 %

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mosdata writes:
on Sep 26 2008 06:51 PM

I saw Eagle Eye - no I was not looking for some great film to touch my emotions, I was looking for a good action movie. This was one. It would have been better set a little in the future (to help with the "believeability" issues), but I enjoyed it. My kids want to see it, so we'll probably be taking them tomorrow.

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stg writes:
on Sep 26 2008 07:24 PM

In reply to this comment (#2047655)
I definitely prefer story over mindless entertainment any day, and am a big fan flicks like Leon: The Professional, but the only point I wanted to raise was not that eagle eye's entertainment value but that If I listen to the critics every time then I would be seeing only ten movies a year, it seems that nothing meets their standards these days, movies that I enjoyed but yet were deemed rotten like The bucket list, penelope, nim's Island, promotion, smart people, Felon, never back down to name a few would be missed. Otherwise I agree with the pixar sentiment that story is king.

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Sep 26 2008 07:58 PM

The Professional was fantastic! I still wish they'd do a sequel, with Portman as a hitwoman.

Just saw Choke. 6/10. Very touch and go. Couldn't decide how much to be sex humor, how much to be "touching" story. TOUCHING.

However, it probably has the funniest use of anal-beads this side of Porn.

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CaptainSiberia writes:
on Sep 26 2008 11:46 PM

In reply to this comment (#2047994)
Actually, they like quite a lot of movies. A lot of the good ones just aren't getting wide releases. Consider Netflix. Consider renting older movies; there's no rule that says you can't watch a movie that's more than 10-years-old. Watch Bullitt: the car chase is one of the best ever! You're in a cop car chasing a criminal through town, and you don't know if an oncoming car isn't gonna suddenly smash right into you from the side at every intersection! That's entertainment!

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goldmonkee writes:
on Sep 27 2008 04:02 AM

Fireproof: 4%

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TheCaptain of TeamLoyalty writes:
on Sep 27 2008 08:13 AM

Again you people are wrong, the MAIN point of movies is entertainment if you think otherwise you have no idea what you are talking about.

P.S. Happy to see St. Anna getting poor reviews, the racist Lee deserves a flop , he is a hack director.

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Bigbrother writes:
on Sep 27 2008 08:15 AM

In reply to this comment (#2047672)
Things going boom=not entertainment?...You and I are two very different people :)

Good point though about good storytelling, but if it happens to be entertaining too, so much the better. Often times movies people rave about for their artistic value I can appreciate for their technical value, but when it comes to story they just put me to sleep. Those are the kind of movies I try to avoid.

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Matanuki writes:
on Sep 27 2008 06:09 PM

Feh. I don't trust the tomatometer on a Spike Lee Joint any more than I trust the tomatometer on an M. Night Shyamalan film.

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