Review for Eyeborgs

Introduction

The eternal battle of man versus machine continues in Eyeborgs. It's a battle that predates the dawn of cinema itself, with the arrival of industrialisation in the 18th and 19th centuries prompting workers all over to cast their shoes into the works. It's not that surprising that fiction quickly reflected this sea change in society, and when the first films were made, they did so also. The personification of the evils of machinery superseding humanity were brought forth in the robot, and Metropolis was a film that early on set the mould of what such sci-fi movies would repeat time and again. Killer robots have been terrorising people on small screens and large for nearly a hundred years now, whether it's Metropolis, Forbidden Planet, Saturn 5, Alien, I, Robot and perhaps the best known modern iteration, the Terminator movies. What I guess I'm saying is that if there is to be yet another movie looking at a world where the machines take over, it will have to add something new to the mix. Eyeborgs combines killer robots with the surveillance society, and in passing comments on the erosion of civil liberties that come with the so-called 'war on terror', the voluntary surrender of freedom in the mistaken belief it will enhance our security.


It's another terrorist attack that allows for the passing of the Freedom of Observation Act in Eyeborgs, as the US government limits the right to privacy of its citizens by allowing all communications and surveillance cameras to be constantly monitored. The lynchpin of this social upheaval is the Eyeborg, security cameras mounted on ambulatory robots that can go anywhere and see anything, instantly gathering evidence to stop the bad guys, whoever they may be, and keep Joe American safe. And everything is tied into the Optical Defence Intelligence Network, ODIN, a super smart computer system that will even direct the Eyeborgs to act, if no one else is there to prevent a crime.


There are still 'freedom fighters' that oppose the new direction that the nation is taking, and one of those is the terrorist Sankur, a man that Homeland Security Agent R.J. 'Gunner' Reynolds is tracking with increased vigilance. It's an election year, and President Hewes, who came to power on the back of the Freedom of Observation Act, is a prime target for Sankur. Except he tries to attack the lead singer of a punk band instead. Jarett Hewes is the nephew of the President, and a target of interest. But when Sankur dies in custody, and the evidence appears to show that it was because of Gunner's negligence, his suspicions are raised. He may be the poster child for the Eyeborgs, the tragic loss of his family a major reason why the bill passed, but even he can see that the little robots aren't exactly acting as they are supposed to. He comes to the conclusion that terrorists have subverted the ODIN network, and are plotting to kill the president using Jarett Hewes, but the truth is far more chilling.

The Disc

Eyeborgs gets a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer, clear and sharp for the most part, but otherwise as unremarkable as you would expect a low budget film to be. The sole audio track is an adequate DD 5.1 Surround English track, while the optional subtitles are useful as some of the dialogue can be buried under the sound effects or music. The surrounds are put to use for the action sequences, but it doesn't really strike me as the pinnacle of audio design. Eyeborgs is one of those films that rely on shaky cam to provide its verité. The camera is always in motion, even during dialogue sequences, although it's to the film's credit that it didn't induce the usual nausea in me. The special effects, in this case the CGI for the Eyeborgs is lacking. Of course it probably would have been state of the art five years ago, but the little robots never really fit into their backgrounds. They work best in full light, generic ambient surroundings, but when things get darker, more textured, then they stand out like a computer generated sore thumb.


The disc autoplays with trailers for Season of the Witch, Limitless, and The Mechanic, while extras include 11 minutes of deleted scenes, three making of featurettes running to a total of 26 minutes, a 3-minute blooper reel, a quick guide to making CGI robots and the film's trailer, with a very British voiceover.

Conclusion

The UK is one of the most camera prone nations in the world, keeping tabs on its citizenry in ways that Soviet Russia could only dream of. We also now use automated drones to kill people in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. With that in mind, you'd expect Eyeborgs to really hit hard here, make a statement, open some eyes, and get people thinking. Well, expectations will be dashed with Eyeborgs, as it's little more than another low budget Terminator clone, machines going out of control and killing people, leading to plenty of action sequences, but not a lot of substance.


This isn't necessarily a bad thing, a low budget as in Eyeborgs has been used as a reason to innovate and improvise. The sets and locations may not quite reach the ideas set forth in the script, the shaky cam techniques here are as often is done, used to inject energy into scenes where cinematography and budget fail to, and the work done in making the CGI robots fit into this handheld movie is impressive, even if the robots themselves seem unfinished compared to those in megabudget action blockbusters like Transformers.


There's also nothing wrong with another Terminator clone, killer robots as an excuse for gratuitous action sequences. Guns are good, explosions are better, and killer machines are just the icing on the cake. It doesn't have to necessarily add anything spectacularly new to the genre, just give us ninety minutes of thrills and spills, and a cathartic pay off at the end. The surveillance society twist is also enough to give it a different spin on things, and emphasising the camera lens on the robots helps make them more characters than machines.


You probably won't even mind the b-movie script, the cheesy dialogue that could have used the service of a script doctor, one or two rather stock clichéd characters, and the suspicion that given one or two re-writes, this might have been a really good movie, instead of a forgettable one. I must admit though, that two-thirds of the way through the film, I got tired of them hammering home just how tragic Gunner's past was, and reminding me yet again, that it was the loss of his family that allowed the Eyeborgs. I got the irony the fourth time.


The thing is that it isn't as original idea as you would think, after all the surveillance society gone wrong has been featured in movies like Enemy of the State, and Minority Report. But what harms Eyeborgs most of all is that it essentially feels unfinished. It's an open ended movie, you get the story started here, the ball rolling as the Eyeborgs start behaving unexpectedly, people start dying, and the conspiracy around the President is unveiled. You get the big cathartic ending, fight sequences, big explosions, heroes prevailing, but the threat is still there at the end, and the end credits beckon a sequel or two.


Worse, we as the audience are asking questions that the characters in this film haven't even got around to. Why are the Eyeborgs acting this way, who is behind it all, or as the film implies, what is behind it all? We as the audience are already one step ahead, which made me feel as if this film was a pilot for a television series, that it would take a good twenty or so episodes to even get to the heart of the story.


Eyeborgs is disposable, popcorn munching fare. Its b-movie, mechanical monster of the week premise is fun but forgettable, and this film really fails to register even while you watch it. It does serve to pass the time though. It did get me thinking however. Forget Eyeborgs. Why hasn't anyone released Runaway on DVD in the UK? Runaway was that killer robot feature with Tom Selleck as a futuristic cop battling the evil Gene Simmons with the aid of Kirstie Alley. I love that movie. I want it on DVD.