When Max Peterson (Shane West) receives a series of mysterious cell phone messages that promise him untold wealth, he soon finds himself the victim of a deadly international plot. Chased by a lethal team of government oper... more »atives, Max races across the planet in a desperate attempt to unravel a conspiracy that threatens the stability of the entire world. Edward Burns, Ving Rhames and Martin Sheen co-star in this techno-charged edge-of-your-seat action thriller!« less
Hardly revolutionary, but a fun thrill ride nonetheless
AIROLF | USA | 05/09/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Very similar to last year's "Eagle Eye," but with Shane West instead of Shia LaBeouf. This movie has a bit more intelligent script, but contains a lot less special effects (although there are several pretty good car chases). The theme of the U.S. government creating a machine for "national security" that then turns against them is nothing new and hardly science fiction these days, but the movies about it seem to be abundant. "Echelon Conspiracy" doesn't strike too far from the herd but it's still quite entertaining."
Unbelievable plot!
Cristian | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 07/20/2009
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Even though it looks like an important sum of money has been spent on making this movie -having been shot in Thailand, Prague, Moscow and the U.S.A.-, that isn't enough to keep the audience interested in following the unbelievable and typically low budget plot.
Not even Martin Sheen's, Edward Burns' or Ving Rhymes' appeareances help this undoubtedly forgettable film."
Maybe a 3 star movie - but another bad Blu brings it down
Steve Kuehl | Ben Lomond, CA | 07/18/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I went in with no expectations and thought I might get lightly entertained. Instead I was subjected to a slew of poor to average performances, DVD quality on a Blu, no special features whatsoever, bad sound, the re-done story mentioned here and everywhere, the best performance not even being credited on the cover art, this constant location/text thing on the screen telling us the coordinates of each sequence (uh - who cares?), this bad freeze frame editing mixed with 1990s MTV music - wow I could keep going.
The performance to watch for is the great little seductress and lethal weapon role filled by the elegant Tamara Feldman. She gets to show her skin in the love scene but it still gets a PG in Canada and a PG13 here - gotta love it. The Blu had no selling point to voice here since it failed on picture quality, sound, lack of features supplemented by a film that would have been cool right after Enemy of the State, not Eagle Eye and ten others.
Normally, I do not go off on a movie this much but each sequence would get steadily worse than the previous. When you find yourself laughing at that 90s music score, bad action scenes, and fluffy writing, things begin to snowball. Maybe it is good for a rental, but do not test your new Blu system with this one; At the most a slow Sunday evening where you might want to see Martin Sheen or Ed Burns fill some roles."
Not as good as I hoped for
Eric | Shizuoka, Japan | 08/12/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I had Echelon conspiracy or Push to choose from at the video rental store so I opted for this one. I remember Shane West in A Walk to Remember and loved him in it, so I wanted to give him a shot with this movie. The concept behind the movie is pretty cool. A super cell phone shows up and gives you tips on making quick money. However, the storyline dips into unbelievable pretty quickly and the acting is subpar. My husband and I laughed at the non-subtle hints of comparisons to our past administrations actions. You'll notice the blatant picture of President Bush in several scenes. A movie to watch if you don't have a good option at the rental store but I'd skip purchasing it."
This is a very noisy movie
bernie | Arlington, Texas | 05/22/2010
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Max Peterson (Shane West) a computer security installer who remembers backdoor passwords in case something goes wrong is just finishing a project. He receives a mysterious FedEx package that he did not order. It contains a new cell phone of the type that is not even on the market yet. Upon turning it on it immediately precedes to save his life and is in the process of making him a millionaire. This looks like fun so he goes with the flow. Little did he know that he is part of some sort of global conspiracy. Will he find out what it is in time to live long enough to spend those millions?
This is very noisy movie with lots of heavy background sounds and whatnot luckily you can hear the dialog through the sound. There is lots of action and it is actually quite fun to watch. There is no real depth to this story yet the twists and turns are fun to watch. There is the obligatory sex scene, which seems out of place and is not that racy. Much of the dialogue and scenarios are lifted from previous films. One that comes to mind is the end of "War Games" were the computer has to play tic-tac-toe with itself to realize that there is no acceptable move but not to play. This could also bring to mind the Star Trek episode where the computer realizes that he is destroying the very people he is supposed to protect. There is also a dash of "Colossus the Forbin project."
In any event, it is fun to watch the interaction twin the fresh new actors and some of the seasoned ones.
Just a note I saw the Blu-ray version and was amazed at the lack of DVD extras. Not even the voice over commentary that tries to justify.