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'Echelon' feels familiar but surprises
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Max Peterson (Shane West) gets mixed up in a
dangerous plot in After Dark Films' Echelon
Conspiracy.
A young man receives a cell phone from a mysterious source and follows the device's advice for extremely advantageous results... until a government conspiracy is unveiled and a race to save the world begins.
If that plot sounds familiar (and it should), you have at least heard of last fall's successful action flick Eagle Eye. However, as Hollywood often does, the film industry's magic land released yet another movie with the same plot in recent weeks. Its title is Echelon Conspiracy.
To be fair, there are significant differences. Where Eagle Eye had Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson and Michael Chiklis, Echelon Conspiracy has Shane West, Tamara Feldman, Edward Burns, Ving Rhames and Martin Sheen. The respective roles are the same, only the actors have been changed.
Not enough separation between the two films yet? Well, let's just say Eagle Eye was produced with a few more dollar bills than Echelon Conspiracy. In fact, Echelon Conspiracy often gives off the look and feel of a direct-to-DVD release. Computer graphics are so commonplace in current Hollywood, they simply fail to impress here. And most of the flick's physical props are equally weak.
But that does not mean Echelon Conspiracy is not worth seeing. It actually has more to say than Eagle Eye and, although they are significantly less high-tech, its chase sequences are quite thrilling. There is something admirable about how hard Echelon Conspiracy tries despite its preconceived limitations.
For the record, West plays Max Peterson, an engineer who receives a new cell phone via mail at the hotel in which he is staying. He cannot track down the sender but decides to power-on the high-tech-looking device anyway.
Max gets a text message on the phone tipping him off about a hotel deal that influences him to stay an extra night. As a result, he misses his flight on a plane than ends up crashing – killing all of its passengers – due to a technical difficulty.
This encourages Max to continue to pay close attention to the text messages, which, by the way, keep on coming. The messages lead Max to a casino where he selects the right slot machines and blackjack tables at just the right times to earn $3 million for himself.
This catches the attention of the casino's head of security John Reed (Burns), a former security operative. However, before he can get to the bottom of the situation, Agent Dave Grant (Rhames) takes Max into custody. This leads to a series of coincidences, eventually uncovering a dangerous plot that threatens the stability of the entire world.
Echelon Conspiracy's prologue is its highest quality. The film takes its time allowing Max to have fun with the cell phone before treading into action territory. This makes for an uneasy transition (watch West's face when the action picks up – even he appears surprised at the blunt turn of events) but at least the writers are aware of the fun aspect of having a phone like this.
That is not the last time the movie takes a hard left turn, though. When the action dies down, Echelon Conspiracy tries its hardest to be an intelligent psychological thriller. It is the weakest segment of the motion picture and does not make complete sense, but a surprising twist in the final moments of the flick puts Eagle Eye's lack-of-brains to shame.
West and Burns turn over terrific performances. Although both (but especially Burns) suffer from the same critical pans as Ben Affleck, like him they are truly under-appreciated for their consistently strong work. They certainly are not LaBeouf and Thornton but neither are their paychecks.
On the other hand, Rhames gives a clueless performance. As usual, he cannot quite put his finger on his role. He is big and strong and that is all that seems to register in the actor's head. This shows quite clearly when the film attempts to gain smarts.
Yet, it is Sheen who is the weakest performer in Echelon Conspiracy. He is playing the same character he has played time and time again and still manages to miss the mark. Who knew sitting in a chair, talking on a cell phone could be so difficult? Well, it isn't but Sheen still cannot do it right.
But the movie itself is particularly strong. It is not the big-budget actioner Eagle Eye was, but it offers enough entertainment to set itself apart from its predecessor. So, even though you may feel you have already seen Echelon Conspiracy, give it a try. You may just be surprised.
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