Echelon Conspiracy – DVD Review

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[SPOLER ALERT: This review contains discussion of key plot elements in the film. Do not read on if you intend to see the movie.]

Echelon Conspiracy is a taught and fast-paced thriller that shows the danger of what can happen if technology becomes too powerful and starts to have a mind of its own. Sound familiar? It should. Eagle Eye had the exact same premise.

In fact, this film very well could have been titled Eagle Eye 2: Echelon Conspiracy. While this doesn’t make it a bad film (in fact, it’s well made and fun to watch), the similarities between the two films and the ultimate goal of the evil government machine orchestrating the “game” make this feel like a sequel or a knock-off instead of an original concept.

Shane West (ER, Whatever it Takes) fills in for Shia LaBeouf as the final pawn in a supercomputer’s plan to overthrow the government. The name of the top secret computer: Echelon. Ed Burns (Saving Private Ryan) and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction, Con-Air) take the place of Billy Bob Thorton and Rosario Dawson, and Martin Sheen (The West Wing) plays the NSA Director in place of Michael Chiklis’s US Defense Secretary.

It’s a race against time and technology as Echelon tracks every move made my West’s character (through GPS and surveillance cameras), with the ultimate goal of leading him to his final destination where the final piece of Echelon’s puzzle can be put into place.

Sadly, there are no special features on this DVD. Not even the film’s trailer, audio commentary, or production stills.

Echelon Conspiracy is loaded with lots of action, excitement, and thrills. The main issue is how easy it is to compare to Eagle Eye. I do recommend this film for fans of technological thrillers, just be forewarned that you will see how both films utilize similar and oftentimes identical elements.

Which flick do you think is better: Eagle Eye or Echelon Conspiracy? Leave a comment and let us know.

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