The key to a good thriller is in the premise. Of course you need many other components, such as good acting and filming techniques to create suspense; but to make a truly good thriller, what you really need is the premise. You can’t make a thriller out of something that isn’t in anyway thrilling. It’s like making a movie about a hamster running around on its wheel. That thing keeps on going in circles unless that little rodent slips and goes flying. Will he fly off? Will he fly off? No, he won’t. The wheel is generally pretty manageable for the furry guy. Obviously, that’s not very thrilling at all.
Echelon Conspiracy starts out very thrilling. In its early stages, you don’t quite know the premise yet and this is why it's intriguing. Max Peterson (Shane West) is in Thailand for work, when he receives a cell phone delivered anonymously. It happens that it’s a very high-tech phone - it’s the iPhone on uppers. Max is leaving Thailand the next day for a flight back to the States and so he’s in his fancy room packing his suitcase for the return trip when he gets a text message. It tells him that the hotel is offering a half-off special and that he should stay an extra night.
Sender: unknown.
Max books the extra night and heads down to the bar for a drink in lieu of flying home. The bar’s television reveals a disturbing discovery for Max. The flight he would’ve taken ended up crashing. Phew. Max thinks. Coincidence? He ponders. How did the text-sender know? He wonders.
The texts keep coming, leaving Max to follow orders. At first this techie-flick is exciting and has you guessing right along with Max…but soon the intrigue begins to wear off as we get more answers. Eventually the movie answers all of Max’s questions. You’re not left with the duped feeling you get after watching Memento; it doesn’t toy with you like that. It lays it down and turns into a run-for-your-life type of thriller, which can be entertaining as well. Certainly the general premise is shaky at best, but that said, Echelon Conspiracy does at least keep you entertained. Whether or not you are thrilled, remains to been seen. It wasn’t as bad as The Hamster and the Wheel: coming soon to a theater near you.
If you don’t watch ER, then you don’t know. Shane West has grown from Mandy Moore’s high school boyfriend to a man (sort of). Not being an ER fan myself, it was strange seeing the skinny guy doing a love scene. The sexiest part of A Walk to Remember was when he puts a stick-on butterfly tattoo on Moore’s shoulder in the car. It wasn’t exactly a Titanic moment. But now, he’s a man. Still looks about like a 17-year-old, but that’s OK. That means he can still play the high schooler if need be. But alas, West’s Matthew Perry-like mannerisms don’t work in a drama. Perry’s overacting is a gem when it comes to comedy, but his style in a drama isn’t the best.
The movie is an attempt at unveiling the world’s concerns about the possibility of the computer age taking over the human age. Like I, Robot or Eagle Eye, the movie tackles the struggles between humans and machines, it just doesn’t quite prove its point as well. Unfortunately because of their action sequences, it probably cost more to produce than it raked in due to its limited US release. Take home message: if your cell phone begins sending messages telling you to do what it says or it’ll kill you…turn it off.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Similarly to some of my latest reviews, the movie comes with no extra features. The Blu-ray flicks usually have some extras to speak of, but all this disc comes with is a higher definition for your viewing pleasure; nothing for those longing to see how they handled the filming of the car chases or the explosions. Just some high definition viewing for some high-risk computer schemes.
"Echelon Conspiracy (Blu-ray)" is on sale July 21, 2009 and is rated PG13. Crime-Thriller, Drama. Directed by Greg Marcks. Written by Michael Nitsberg, Kevin Elders. Starring Ed Burns, Martin Sheen, Shane West, Tamara Feldman, Ving Rhames.
