There's a not so subtle warning in the paranoid thriller "Eagle Eye." Something about technology and government and the Patriot Act and the ability to see, hear and track everything we do.

The movie, though, doesn't give much time to process warnings -- or coherent thought, for that matter -- as it rushes headlong into a preposterous but invigorating plot about conspiracy, terrorism and computers.

Shia LaBoeuf ("Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull") crackles as Jerry Shaw, an underachieving twin brother who returns from his over-achieving sibling's funeral to find that his apartment is filled with explosives and various terrorist devices.

A mysterious woman calls him on the phone and tells him to run or the FBI will get him. He doesn't, and they do, but the voice calls back with an arranged escape, and the chase is on. And on and on.

Jerry is soon paired with Michelle Monaghan's Rachel Hollowman -- also having her strings pulled by the mysterious woman who seems to know everything they're doing and can control everything from the traffic lights to the construction cranes to a store message board.

The reluctant duo -- chased by an edgy and wryly funny FBI agent played by Billy Bob Thornton, and Rosario Dawson's somewhat more bland Air Force investigator -- are then sent through an adrenaline-filled series of complicated hoops for unexplained reasons.

Directed by D.J. Caruso, who guided LaBeouf in the lightweight but entertaining Hitchcock homage "Disturbia," keeps the pedal to the floor and keeps viewers on the edges of their seats.

Honestly, the story is completely ridiculous, and once the reason behind the plot and the identity of the mastermind are revealed, a whole host of issues are presented. Couldn't the end result have been attained in a much less convoluted fashion? Then again, what fun would that be?

"Eagle Eye" is fast moving and fun. It doesn't exercise the brain cells, but it's full of enough visceral thrills to make it worthwhile.

Rental Recommendation: Long live Paul Newman. Watch one of his best, 1973's "The Sting." Grade: A

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