Echelon Conspiracy (2009)

best movie i've ever seen.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I would like to have the smartphone this guy gets ... it is so beautiful. I came across this movie by coincidence while zapping through TV channels. Great idea, very entertaining and an unexpected end. After reading many of those reviews here - "this is a copy of Eagles Eye" - I thought, great, another movie like this, I must see it. But honestly, I could not watch "Eagles Eye" to the end. It was too boring. So ... no. Both movies are based on a similar idea (like other movies: Colossus, I Robot, The Matrix or even Tron), but that's it. Maybe people who have watched "Eagles Eye" before and loved this movie will not like the "Echelon Conspiracy", I don't know. It is not a deadly serious movie, though. Sometimes a little irony shows and sometimes it made me smile. To me, "Echelon Conspiracy" is one of those few movies I can watch more than one time and enjoy those small details I discover.

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...

For the first 40 minutes, I was mesmerized by this film. The beginning was as thrilling and intriguing as any film I'd seen all year, but after that, the big secret is revealed and it became almost a shot for shot remake of Eagle Eye. It was seriously ridiculous how the two stories became almost exactly alike. Realizing this, the writers decided to throw in a big twist at the end, that might have saved the film had it made even a single bit of sense. Echelon Conspiracy begins with computer programmer, Max Petersen (Shane West), anonymously receiving a brand new, state of the art, cell phone in the mail. The phone gives him instructions which lead to him winning a lot of money. Everything is going great for Max, until he disobeys the phones wishes and the FBI shows up. Shane West was fantastic in this film, it really makes me wonder why he doesn't do more stuff like this. West seems to prefer romantic dramas, but is clearly missing his true calling. After seeing a performance like this, I'd easily put him at the top of the list for any major action film. West was paired in this film with Edward Burns who was terrific and Ving Rhames who was Ving Rhames. I say that, because sometimes he's the perfect fit for a role and other times, he couldn't be more out of place, a perfect example of which is his role in this film. As I said, this movie starts out great, but becomes exactly like Eagle Eye, I would venture to say that the two films are so much a like that the producers of Eagle Eye have a case for copyright infringement, it really was that close. Besides that, the film was a decent action film, with some nice performances. Had I not seen Eagle Eye, I may have thought more of this film, but as it stands, Echelon Conspiracy is just another low budget rip off of a semi-decent major motion picture and not much else.

Max (Shane West) installs security systems for computers all over the world. To the chagrin of his latest client, he sets off an alarm to prove how great the security is, causing minor havoc. Soon, the hotel he has been staying at gives him an elaborate mobile phone, which has a plethora of aps. One gives him the ability to beat the tables at the local gambling venue. But, all too soon, Max realizes someone is tracking him with this phone and, horror, he learns that other folks who had just such a device ended up getting bumped off. Ouch! Soon, Max crosses paths with undercover agents like John (Edward Burns) and upsets other spies like Ving Rhames and Martin Sheen. Then, too, a beautiful but mysterious woman named Kamile (Tamara Feldman) spends the night with Max, after a brief meeting. However, she may or may not be the enemy. Will Max be able to get out of lengthening maze of danger? This film started off rather well but soon became irrelevant. The cast, including West, Burns, and Feldman, is very attractive and talented, yes, to no avail. Nor does it matter that the venues are exotic, the costumes fine or the direction has energy. With a plot that loses sense and a high-tech premise that is not easily understood, the movie is a disappointment. Look for other film ideas, such as the Bourne Identity, which has a similar look and feel.