Truly the worst movie I've ever seen in a theater

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

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.

"Max Peterson" (Shane West) is a computer expert who just happens to be working on a project in Bangkok when he gets a strange package delivered to his hotel room. Upon opening it he finds a cellphone that gives him some extremely valuable advice that not only helps him make a fortune but also saves his life by diverting him from taking a flight that winds up crashing and leaving no survivors. Needless to say, he considers himself quite lucky. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that the mastermind behind the texts has its own agenda and he is merely a pawn in it—and he is quite expendable. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this movie had quite a bit going for it but it became much too clichéd and predictable toward the end which really hurt this film overall. Even so, Shane West put in a creditable performance as did Tamara Feldman who was definitely easy on the eyes as well. In short, this was a passable movie overall and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Max Peterson (Shane West) is a world traveling tech security expert. He receives a mysterious phone anonymously which sends him helpful messages. It helps him avoid a plane crash, gives a stock tip and win at a casino. He encounters helpful driver Yuri Malanin in Prague. Casino security John Reed (Edward Burns) is suspicious. Kamila (Tamara Feldman) runs a scam on Max. Her partner knocks him out and they scan his phone. He wins a $3 million jackpot at the casino owned by Mueller (Jonathan Pryce) and is pursued by Reed. He is stopped and taken in by FBI Agent Dave Grant (Ving Rhames). Grant has been following untraceable texts to people who have sudden massive gains and then get killed mysteriously. Grant has been coordinating with NSA director Raymond Burke (Martin Sheen). The source turns out to be NSA central computer Echelon.First, Max is a prick. He is reckless and clueless. He is annoying as heck. I have no rooting interest in the character. He needs to be an everyman. Instead, he's an everydouche. It's kind of funny that even Reed calls him a douche. The movie should have great paranoid tension but this thing drags on and on. It should be him against the world but it takes forever for the first assassination attempt on Max himself. It should have started with NSA trying to kill him. This is basically as stupid as 'Eagle Eye' but without any of the fun. The WarGames ending isn't that good either because it feels derivative.

How long have movies dabbled in the theme of a smart computer taking over our lives? 2001: Space Odyssey? Earlier than that, at least back to 1956 and "Forbidden Planet".In this movie Shane West is Max Peterson, software security expert, and while traveling abroad gets a mysterious, unexpected package. Inside is what looks like a phone, and soon we realize it is a model which has not yet hit the market. Even stranger, a message pops up telling him to stay an extra day, then the flight he had been scheduled on crashes and everyone dies.He gets other texts, including a stock purchase recommendation and some specific gambling recommendations, all of which are valid. What is going on? We wonder, he wonders, everyone else he encounters wonders.All of this sets up some intrigue and chases, getting the NSA involved. Then it is discovered that others who received such a phone all had been killed in some way. So Max Peterson was running for his life.Other good actors were Edward Burns, Ving Rhames , Jonathan Pryce, and Martin Sheen.Certainly all impossible, by what we know is possible today, and likely for future years, but a healthy suspension of disbelief and it can be entertaining.SPOILERS: From the title, "Echelon" is the name of a broad, powerful, sophisticated program that has access to every camera, database, phone conversation, basically capable of seeing and listening to everyone everywhere. It was sending out the messages without any human knowledge. The "recommendations" were made using very sophisticated probability analyses, and designed to get the user as an ally. The ultimate goal was for Echelon to migrate itself to a different computer at a different location, in Nebraska, so it would be able to upgrade itself, and then become even more powerful, and that needed human help. At the last second Max was able to get it to stop itself, as he reminded Echelon its purpose was to act in the best interest of mankind and when it pulled up news reports at Max's request then shut itself down as following its own programmed purpose.