Take an interesting concept that intertwines Orwell and Asimov and transform it into a Hollywood lecture with political darts and huge plot holes. Did I mention the horrible acting? When you think (hope) it is over, they throw in a ridiculous scene to tie up a loose end where you find out that it was the Russian military that foresaw the error of our ways and helped us overcome our naivety. What? Hollywood used to entertain us, now they lecture us while tossing in the typical chase scenes, blood and gore, hot chick/sex scene, and yet another stupid ending. Pitiful. Please don't bother with this disaster.

The only positive thing I can say about this movie is the filming was good. It has the polish and look of a Hollywood Blockbuster. They just forgot the script and acting of a blockbuster. OMG what a BAD movie. Some parts were so bad they became funny. The conspiracy in this story is that this rotten movie suckered my & my family out of 50 bucks for tickets and movie snacks. Plot: tired, worn out copycat plot Acting: There was no acting Action: The action scenes were out of place and silly Cinemetography: pretty good, but why? I will never watch another movie from this cast of directors/actors.

BIG BUILD UP FOR NO CLIMAX! CAN WAIT FOR DVD

PLEASE, I beg of you, don't waste your time or money on this piece of cinematic rubbish! Bullet points explaining my distain: - Shane West + Worst actor (not to mention leading man) since Michael Moore - The decent casting (except Shane West) falsely draws you in, then you are totally betrayed - Either the stars they got to be in this were lied to, or they had some kind of anti-America agenda they thought they could fulfill by making a movie that frames America as a world evil and Russia (of all countries) as the defender of human rights! - Terrible script - Laughable acting by Shane West - Completely predictable storyline...not ONE twist that wasn't completely obvious. I could go on and on, but just believe me that this movie SUCKS!!!

ECHELON CONSPIRACY has some great ideas - much like the far better new film THE INTERNATIONAL - but made a key casting error in its lead of Shane West. He tries hard, but he just doesn't have the screen presence or weight to carry a movie of this ilk; the film is trying to have the same impact of a BOURNE movie, but they are missing Matt Damon in the lead role. An ambitious film, it was shot on several different continents with an diverse cast of note with stars of the indie world including Ving Rhames and Edward Burns plus legends such as Jonathan Pryce and Martin Sheen, but ultimately it cannot overcome the lack of presence in the lead and the many plot holes which in the very least are questionable. One certainly promising note is the lead actress - Tamara Feldman - who has an interesting look and possibilities as a femme fatale - reminds one of Vera Farmiga. If Feldman, who has been in various TV shows this decade, plays her cards correctly, she could ascend to cinema stardom.