Enemy of the State (1998)
Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet, Regina King ... (see more) , Loren Dean , Jack Black
Robert Clayton Dean (Will Smith) is a lawyer with a wife and family whose happily normal life is turned upside down after a chance meeting with a college buddy (Jason Lee) at a lingerie shop. Unbeknownst to the lawyer, he's just been burdened with a videotape of a congressman's assassination. Hot on...
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Robert Clayton Dean (Will Smith) is a lawyer with a wife and family whose happily normal life is turned upside down after a chance meeting with a college buddy (Jason Lee) at a lingerie shop. Unbeknownst to the lawyer, he's just been burdened with a videotape of a congressman's assassination. Hot on the tail of this tape is a ruthless group of National Security Agents commanded by a belligerently ambitious fed named Reynolds (Jon Voight). Using surveillance from satellites, bugs, and other sophisticated snooping devices, the NSA infiltrates every facet of Dean's existence, tracing each physical and digital footprint he leaves. Driven by acute paranoia, Dean enlists the help of a clandestine former NSA operative named Brill (Gene Hackman), and Enemy of the State kicks into high-intensity hyperdrive.
Teaming up once again with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Top Gun director Tony Scott demonstrates his glossy style with clever cinematography and breakneck pacing. Will Smith proves that there's more to his success than a brash sense of humor, giving a versatile performance that plausibly illustrates a man cracking under the strain of paranoid turmoil. Hackman steals the show by essentially reprising his role from The Conversation--just imagine his memorable character Harry Caul some 20 years later. Most of all, the film's depiction of high-tech surveillance is highly convincing and dramatically compelling, making this a cautionary tale with more substance than you'd normally expect from a Scott-Bruckheimer action extravaganza. --Jeremy Storey
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Critics
R, 2 hrs. 8 min.
Directed by:
Tony Scott
Release Date: Nov 20, 1998
DVD Release Date: Jun 15, 1999
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Flixster User Reviews
I thought this was pretty much nonsense, and I usually like Will Smith. We watched Enemy of the State in Geoscience at the end of the year in '00. The class was a terrible joke and there was nothing to do. My friend sold the teacher's soul on eBay. A... (read more) I thought this was pretty much nonsense, and I usually like Will Smith. We watched Enemy of the State in Geoscience at the end of the year in '00. The class was a terrible joke and there was nothing to do. My friend sold the teacher's soul on eBay. Another friend downloaded movies onto a lab computer. I wouldn't even have downloaded this (it was a movie for a day with no work, not a download), but my misgivings could have been the time and place. It's more complex than is typical for the genre.
From the official Flixster review:
"Most of all, the film's depiction of high-tech surveillance is highly convincing..."
The trouble is that I didn't find it convincing at all. My mother is massively paranoid, so maybe it shouldn't be surprising that I found the concept rather ho-hum, and the execution, as I said, unconvincing. As an expression of technological paranoia, it seems on the money.
Extra half-star for Gene Hackman basically making this a sequel to The Conversation.
Great cast, good action - makes you think twice how many times your image is captured in everyday existence...and what potential there is for it to be used against you.
Enemy of the State is rare entertainment and thrills, in the otherwise lumbering, noisy profile of Jerry Bruckheimer productions.
Directed by Tony Scott, Enemy of the State deals with subject matter that is actually served by it's director's ridicul... (read more) Enemy of the State is rare entertainment and thrills, in the otherwise lumbering, noisy profile of Jerry Bruckheimer productions.
Directed by Tony Scott, Enemy of the State deals with subject matter that is actually served by it's director's ridiculously quick cuts and obnoxiously fast pace. The star performance by Will Smith provides enough humour and intrigue to direct viewer attention away from the movie's logic errors and laughable narrative quirks, and ultimately allows us to enjoy this thriller. Certainly, as fast as Enemy of the State is, we can always see that Smith's character is developing along the way and that the plot is headed somewhere new and interesting.
Enemy of the State has something to say and it says it in a way that a Grade 2 could follow and appreciate. But it's also great fun and genuinely suspenseful, and carries enough variety of situation and strong acting to ensure that for viewers of all ages, this 2 hours will be worth it.
Decent. Can't believe the Jason Lee thing. The ending was kind of lame too, but Will Smith and Gene Hackman are pretty cool.
Overall, great 90s blockbuster-type crime movie. Great jabs at the CIA as well.
Critic Reviews
What do you say about a movie that sends you home in a frenzy to search for bugs? In the new age of Big Brother, that's entertainment.full review
The movie is fast-paced, centered around two big chase scenes, and ending in a clever double-cross that leads to a big shootout.full review
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