Conspiration

Max (West) a computer security installer gets telephone messages telling him when to play blackjack at a casino and wins. The messages keep coming everywhere he goes. Who is sending these messages? The casino and the FBI are concerned. The previous recipients of those messages have all died. Max is concerned too.

This movie is like War Games 1, and EagleEye. Very good, suspenseful, keeps you guessing and moves at a good pace. The acting by all is excellent. It's a good story. Not much in the way of stunts or CGI, but it keeps you engaged.

I believe that most of you know what Echelon is all about. It's real, but in this story who is using Echelon to send the messages? Do I hear the word "conspiracy?" Inquiring minds, you see.

Now, I couldn't help noticing that Shane West bears some resemblance to the actor who played Doogie Howser (character in the TV show: Doogie Howser, MD). And, also Edward Burns does resemble Brian Williams (TV News Anchor) somewhat. If you look hard enough at someone you will see yourself in there. Try it. Got to look hard though. Of course, some make it easy to look like someone else because they do. Ha ha.

Anyway, all is good and worth the price of admission or DVD rental

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: One F-bomb was heard

Nice, not boring, cliché-oriented, Martin Sheen & Ving Rhames among others, nicely packed "Eagle Eye" 50% clone, super computers going wild, the human brain winning again, the assumingly good guy in top position being called to some committee... Seen these before? So did I, but, as I said, for a rainy Saturday evening it's quite OK. It could've been worse, could've been a lot better. The script started really interesting, but lost something on the way. Nothing to do with the acting, just some childish solutions when there was room for more strong approach. Anyway, you can stay to the end credits, enjoying some action and "what's the next camera watching?"...

Man, I cannot believe how so MANY here just stupidly mention things in their summary COMPLETELY giving away a VERY major plot point in this movie. Thank GOODNESS I didn't read any of these before watching the film or it would have totally ruined it for me...

Idiots...

Anyway, you won't get that here... There are indeed other films that really remind me of this one, but I have enough sense NOT to mention them here so as not to spoil anything for you.

Not a whole lot to say that hasn't already been said by others here. I fully enjoyed the movie. Sure, it wasn't exactly the most polished film out there, and there are some slightly awkward sequences of dialog and plot progression. The acting is not stellar, but it is okay with the script they had to work with. I really like Ed Burns and I also enjoyed the story because I like these types of themes. BUT... with that said, there ARE other films out there that tell this kind of story better.

It helps if you can forgive some of the clunky dialog and character interactions and just concentrate more on the action and story. Without giving anything away, I DO have to tell you something that I thought was kind of funny and probably a bit corny, but I have a soft spot in my heart for this. Towards the end, there is a Classic Captain Kirk moment. I won't say any more, but those of you who like the Original Star Trek Series will know exactly what I mean.

So, we are definitely not dealing with Oscar material here and there have quite honestly been other movies about this subject that are far better, but if you don't take it too seriously or expect it to be of full-on 'BOURNE' or 'MISSION IMPOSSIBLE' caliber, then I think there's a good chance that you can just sit back and have fun watching this.

I DID give it a '7', which is probably a little generous. Maybe around a 6.5 might be a bit more accurate...

I'm only really commenting here because I get the sh!ts with dickheads who post comments about what an abysmal film this was when they only watched the first ten minutes of it.

Sure, it could have been done better, it's no Enemy of the State, after all, but as a reasonably enjoyable way of wasting 100 minutes, it does the job just fine.

So what if it's full of clichés, plot holes and technical faux-pas? Like, disguising your use of a cellphone by using an earpiece with a brilliant flashing blue light, well, it's something I probably wouldn't do, but I probably wouldn't unquestioningly do anything I was told to do by a text message from a total stranger.

Never mind, just enjoy it for what it is.

This film got a 5 out of me, because in the end I realized this movie is a lower budget, straight to DVD version of other movies in its genre and subject matter. The film itself seemed hastily put together with what scenes they shot to muster up a simple and digestible, even if disagreeable film.

The Pros: I'll name these first to be kind. -Story and characters make sense... more on this later. -It's international, but mostly American. They travel around the world (or so they say in the film but mostly in Prague, Moscow and somewhere in the US).

The Cons: -Too many holes and unanswered questions in the script and story line. -The main character lacks intelligent initiative. -The script itself is lacking in many areas and just assumes things without presenting them to the audience. -They give too much credit to the computer and to the characters without establishing any premise.

Straight to DVD in my opinion and not worth a watch in the theater. However the premise and subject matter is somewhat realistic with the findings of Ghostnet and other information gathering computer attacks found by Canadian and US university researchers.