Echelon Conspiracy
by Greg Marcks
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Actor: Edward Burns, Jonathan Pryce, Shane West, Tamara Feldman, Ving RhamesDirector: Greg Marcks
Brand: Paramount
Producer: Alexander Leyviman
Producer: Charles V. Bender
Producer: John Corser
Producer: Jonathan Tzachor
Producer: Navid McIlhargey
Writer: Kevin Elders
Writer: Michael Nitsberg
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 105 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-07-21
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of Echelon Conspiracy
DVD Review: Every Move You Make, Every Step You Take, I'll Be Watching You
Summary: 3 Stars
An unpleasant wave of déjà vu swept over me as I watched "Echelon Conspiracy," which tells the story of a secret, powerful government organization using a cell phone to control an unwitting young man. Was this not the plot of last fall's "Eagle Eye"? Maybe it's a depressing sign of the times that writers Kevin Elders and Michael Nitsberg and director Greg Marcks ripped off a movie that wasn't all that good begin with. Both films are equally preposterous, but "Echelon Conspiracy" has the added distinction of being a rehash, and not a very good one at that. This is one of those rare instances where it's obvious that the actors don't care that much about what they're doing; even the great Martin Sheen can't seem to rouse himself to give more than a merely decent performance.
The story focuses on a Max Peterson (Shane West), a computer engineer from Omaha, Nebraska. While on business in Bangkok, he receives an anonymous package containing a cell phone so state-of-the-art, it isn't even on the market yet. Almost immediately, he begins receiving a manipulative series of text messages. This leads him to Prague, where he's ordered to stay at a fancy hotel and gamble huge sums of money at rigged gaming stations. This catches the attention of a former FBI agent named John Reed (Edward Burns), who now works as the head of the casino's surveillance team. It also catches the attention of Reed's former partner, Agent Dave Grant (Ving Rhames), who has been sent by an American government faction called the NSA.
While other Americans have received mysterious text messages, Max is the only one who hasn't been killed because of it. This leads the head of the NSA, Raymond Burke (Sheen), to believe that it his involvement has something to do with the activation of a homeland security system known as Echelon. How it was activated and why Max was chosen have yet to be determined; all he knows is that he's constantly under surveillance, and it seems he won't be let off the hook until he's served his purpose.
There comes a point when he meets a Russian hacker named Yuri (Sergey Gubanov), who doubles as a cab driver. He gives Max an earpiece that vocalizes his text messages; what we hear is a monotone female voice that sounds eerily similar to one that controlled Shia LaBeouf in "Eagle Eye" (provided by an uncredited Julianne Moore, which is just as well, especially if it happens to be her voice in this new film). Max also meets an undercover agent named Kamila (Tamara Feldman), who serves no real purpose other than looking sexy. This doesn't work too well for film that's rated PG-13, but never mind.
One of the film's most baffling casting choices is Jonathan Pryce as Mueller, the wealthy owner of the hotel/casino in Prague. He periodically appears to engage in cryptic, mildly threatening conversations with Reed, who he feels isn't doing a good enough job taking care of the Echelon problem. Why this character was deemed necessary, I have no idea. Other than an interesting metaphor about arrows and phoenix feathers, he contributes absolutely nothing to the story. I got the impression that Pryce was just as surprised by being cast; as is the case with Sheen, his performance has the air of someone not taking his role seriously. This might have worked had the film gone in a much campier direction.
Indeed, this film had the potential to be a lot of fun. The plot in and of itself is inherently escapist, not at all unlike the plot of your average summer blockbuster. But somehow, the elements weren't coming together; I never once felt as if I could just sit back put my brain on autopilot. In all fairness, the writers made a good start by giving the characters incredibly hokey dialogue, which seems to exist only as a way to get from one corny joke to the next. Consider a scene in which Max and Reed find themselves in the middle of a car chase: When Max asks, "FBI crash course?" Reed responds, "Brooklyn childhood." It seems films like this are entitled to one or two especially bad lines. Still, don't expect the audience's laughter to be anything other than incredulous.
The climactic final scenes take place in, of all places, Max's hometown, mostly in a concrete warehouse located in the middle of nowhere. Is it possible to genuinely care about a commentary on computer intelligence and government control in such a setting? Are commentaries even necessary in movies like this? I didn't think so in the case of "Eagle Eye," and I certainly don't think so in the case of "Echelon Conspiracy," a perfunctory story that pretends to be a lot bigger than it actually is. When an action/adventure film is this thin-blooded, it's difficult to understand why notable names are attached to it. One wonders: Did Martin Sheen see something in the screenplay that somehow didn't translate to the big screen? Did he actually believe that the whole technology-gone-awry idea would be properly developed? I shudder to think that a paycheck was the only motivating force.
Description of Echelon Conspiracy
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