Echelon Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Echelon Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie Review

Another hopeless wannabe meanders onto Blu-ray.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 3, 2009

Who's sending the messages?

Indeed, who's sending the messages that another plodding, third-rate, lame-brained, re-hashed, unimaginative, made-for-TV quality, seen-one-seen-'em-all Techno-Thriller is just what the movie doctor ordered? Here's a prime example of dimwitted moviemaking that cherry picks ideas from several films of the past decade or so and brings them all together for yet another "alarming" foray into the dangers of technology, and don't forget the bad guy politicians hiding behind the server farms. Borrowing from the Will Smith/Gene Hackman/Tony Scott crowd pleaser Enemy of the State, the latest Die Hard installment, Eagle Eye (and by the time this one rolled into theaters, this concoction was already turning sour), and even the Terminator universe for good measure, Echelon Conspiracy treads all-too-familiar ground down the very well-beaten path of scaremonger moviemaking with a dullard script and the familiar refrain of by-the-book action sequences.

Thankfully, nobody will kill you for turning the movie off.

Computer whiz kid Max Peterson (Shane West, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) receives a mysterious package prior to his departure from Bangkok and after another successful networking job. Inside the box is a mobile device that asks him to stay another day and cancel his flight. Believing it to be a hotel gimmick, he goes along with it, but later learns that the flight he would have been on crashed, killing all aboard. The device next asks him to buy a particular stock which, hours later, shoots up over 300% in value. After missing out on that tidbit, Max begins to take the fortunate-telling device more seriously, heading to Prague and subsequently winning millions by following its exact instructions in a casino. When casino security chief John Reed (Ed Burns, One Missed Call) becomes suspicious of Max, he attempts to seize the young man for questioning but is beaten to the punch by FBI agent Dave Grant (Ving Rhames, Saving God). Max soon finds himself in the middle of a technological conspiracy, at the center of it an advanced computer system known as "Echelon" that has becoming self-aware, constantly monitoring and influencing Max to do whatever it needs of him to complete its diabolical plan.

Echelon Conspiracy is nothing but predictable drivel that takes on the look and feel of a bad made-for-TV movie, replete with name actors who appear only to cash a paycheck, plenty of technical gibberish, a faux romance, and action sequences with zero creative flair. Save for Jonathan Pryce and the always-dependable Ving Rhames, every actor turns in dreary, phoned-in performances. Echelon Conspiracy features a fine ensemble cast that takes the material and crawls with it, Martin Sheen in particular sleepwalking through his part and delivering perhaps the most unconvincing effort of his otherwise illustrious career. Ed Burns stumbles around with bad dialogue and a bored look on his face, while Shane West never seems to really care all that much about the character or his predicament. On top of the film's poor implementation of technology (which comes replete with completely fake-looking cell phone and computer monitor readouts and the clichéd soft female computer voice) and its rushed, unbelievable, and meaningless romance are action sequences that never once stand out from the crowd. Foot chases enjoy the heart-stopping intensity of a caution lap at a Nascar race; car chases are dull, repetitive, and look and feel like they could have been pulled from countless other films; and a standoff at the end features awkward hybrid and obviously fake weapons and is about as nail-biting as the ninth inning of a 15-0 spring training baseball game. Echelon Conspiracy just flounders in every aspect of its existence, an exercise in futility and the very definition of a movie with no redeeming value.

Echelon Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Echelon Conspiracy downloads onto Blu-ray with a hit-or-miss 1080p, 2.40:1-framed transfer. The film begins unimaginatively by taking on that cold, steely blue appearance but later delivering a wider variety of colors and lighting schemes. Several outdoor shots throughout -- whether in Bangkok, Prague, or Moscow -- often deliver solid depth, fine detail, and a fabulous array of colors. Other shots take on a slightly more bland appearance. The inside of the Prague casino never looks all that convincing, and while awash in color, it takes on a decidedly warm appearance that highlights red and oranges considerably. Even a red dress sticks out like a sore thumb and looks so fake as to appear almost animated, like something out of The Spirit. On close examination, details sometimes don't impress all that much; close-up shots of various objects, for instance the cardboard box in which Max discovers the mobile device, appear hazy, undefined, and soft. However, general objects that tend to look good in the better Blu-ray transfers -- sidewalks, building façades, and clothing -- do impress here. Flesh tones often veer towards a shade of red or orange, and in the case of the latter, characters often look like they've slathered on 20 bottles of the harshest tanning cream to be found in the mall. Blacks, too, are all over the map, ranging from solid to bright to drowning out detail. Echelon Conspiracy does feature a healthy dosage of film grain than generally gives the transfer a film-like look, but several other negatives throughout -- some of which are victims of poor production design -- leave this transfer looking less than exemplary.

Echelon Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Echelon Conspiracy delivers a very good, but not great, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The soundtrack features loud, aggressive musical cues throughout. Sound effects generally impress as they scatter and move about the soundstage to loud, clear, and accurate effect. The track often sounds spacious and delivers a fair sense of atmosphere. The casino sequences contain most of the ambient effects across the front, but other, later scenes do manage to deliver some rear-channel activity. Shootouts generally impress; whether the weapon is suppressed or not, whizzing rounds scream across the soundstage, the subsequent impacts on glass and other objects delivering a pleasing and seemingly dangerous sonic experience. The track also features par-for-the-course dialogue reproduction. This is a good all-around soundtrack, but it doesn't stand above the crowd of plenty of other "good" soundtracks on the format. It's as expected of a new release Techno-Action Thriller, but at this point, it can't be considered of absolute reference quality.

Echelon Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No special features are included with this release.

Echelon Conspiracy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Without an original bone in its celluloid body, Echelon Conspiracy can only hope to impress with creativity behind the camera and decent performances in front of it, but the film wallows in mediocre-to-poor production values, standard direction, a forgettable score, lazy acting, an unoriginal script that features dimwitted characters, and a sluggish pace. The movie strikes out at every turn; not one character is memorable nor does even one scene stand out, the result a movie that most are likely to forget an hour after the credits roll. Even the Blu-ray presentation fails to make much of an impression. The technical presentations, though not perfect, muster up decent enough picture and sound, though at the expense of supplements. A dull movie, a so-so video transfer, an active but not groundbreaking soundtrack, and no extras, Echelon Conspiracy makes even for a questionable rental.