Echelon Conspiracy is an action/thriller starring Shane West, Ving Rhames, Ed Burns, and Martin Sheen. The film is part spy thriller and part drama and centers in on the controversial issue of National Security and how far it should go into the lives of private citizens. A hot button topic for sure, and for the most part, Echelon Conspiracy delivers.
The plot here revolves around computer guru Max Peterson (West). Max receives a mysterious, yet to be released cell phone in the mail while working on a password protection job for a large international firm. Texts are sent to the phone form an unknown sender, tipping Max off on ways to make oodles of cash…that is until the sender starts commanding him to do “other things” and threatening his life in the process. A disgruntled casino owner and the NSA both become involved in the plot and Max becomes the center of a fairly unpredictable sequence of events that will give you shivers if you actually stop to think about how realistic this actually is.
Overall, this is a solid film. All the actors are great and the plot (aside from the big surprise) is pretty unpredictable, twisting and turning enough to keep your attention although never fully wowing you either. If you are look for an intriguing action movie that goes beyond just blowing things up every few minutes than I suggest checking Echelon Conspiracy out. The only downside is that there are no real extras here. I would think the topic itself would have lent itself to some interesting Making Of documentaries.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
