Enemy of the State (1998)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Beautiful, moving film.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

RELEASED IN 1998 and directed by Tony Scott, "Enemy of the State" is an action/crime/thriller starring Will Smith as a DC lawyer who unknowingly apprehends evidence of a serious crime involving a formidable politician (Jon Voight) and is subsequently targeted by his NSA goons (Jack Black, Seth Green, etc.) and heavies (Scott Caan, Jake Busey, etc.). He ultimately partners with an ex-NSA surveillance curmudgeon (Gene Hackman).The quick-editing is akin to other popular action flicks of the era, like "Armageddon" (1998), but it's done expertly and there are enough lulls in the relentless action and character-developing moments to prevent it from being overkill. The surveillance element and Hackman bring to mind Coppola's "The Conversation" (1974), but the story moves way faster, has more thrills and the characters are more interesting.Lisa Bonet (Jason Momoa's babe) is stunning as the protagonist's secret connection and former woman-on-the-side while Regina King is capable as the wife. There are several teases of ravishing women on the periphery.This is a gripping, action-packed thriller that has quality characters and is entertaining throughout. The creators took the time & effort to throw in inspired little gems, like "Baby" the friendly orange & white cat (I have a cat just like him). Smith and Hackman have great conflict-habituated but respectful camaraderie. THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours, 12 minutes and was shot in Baltimore & Phoenix, Maryland; Washington DC; and Southern Cal (L.A., West Hollywood and Pasadena). WRITER: David Marconi.GRADE: A-

Enemy Of The State is a re-watchable hi-tech thriller. Fast-paced, well-acted and well-directed with an interesting plot about national security, privacy, and technology. The film manages to keep the viewers intrigued even when we're not kept in the dark as opposed to the main protagonist.This is a thriller that is not ruined by a few lines of comedic dialogue, it works well due to the tense story line.

First things first, the film score composed by Harry Gregson-Williams is catchy and suits the motion picture.If you're paranoid do not watch this movie, if you love an entertaining techno-thriller, then this should be watched more than once.The most recent movie that is similar to this is "Snowden" and it is nothing new, we've seen that type of thing portrayed in this 90s flick "Enemy Of The State", and out of the two films "Enemy Of The State" is so much better in every way, "Snowden" is a drama, whereas "Enemy Of The State" is an action thriller that is fast-paced and lively."Enemy Of The State" has brilliant performances, great dialogue (not all the time though), professional directing and decent scenery. There is a couple of errors, and the first error is when "Robert Dean" (Will Smith) snaps at a couple of people when things are not going well for him, the people that i'm talking about are people who did nothing wrong to him at all, it's understandable that he's under pressure and him snapping at the people who are causing him grief is fine, he's not perfect and we have to see him stressed at some point, but the writers/editors should have excluded those two scenes where he is snapping at people who were innocent - the scenes are when his assistant tells him twice that there's people there to see him and he replies very rudely with "I heard you the first time, thank you", the second scene is when he leaves his briefcase on the floor by his feet while trying to check into a hotel, one of those CIA guys walks past and very discreetly picks up "Robert Dean's" briefcase and walks out of the hotel with it, "Robert Dean" then says to the hotel receptionist that his briefcase was right there and that it just disappeared, she asks him "Are you sure you brought it in?" and he replies very angrily and shouts at her saying the words "YES I'M SURE I BROUGHT IT IN!", (the question she asked is a little silly, but he told her his briefcase is missing, so what is she supposed to do? ignore him? plus it is "Robert Dean's" own fault that his briefcase got stolen, you never leave your briefcase by your feet while being preoccupied with something else) and if you watch that scene carefully - even the lady beside him who is checking herself in looks round shockingly at him because that is just a natural response to outrageous unnecessary over the top behaviour. The writers need to keep in mind that if they want viewers to like a character, make sure that he is likable from start to finish.Another error in this movie is to do with some character's faults and some of the faults of the script/writing, and that's when "Robert Dean" is arguing with his wife "Carla Dean" (Regina King), she speaks truth about him going behind her back and having business-type meetings with "Rachel F. Banks" (Lisa Bonet) - (a woman who "Robert Dean" had an affair with in the past) and while on the subject of "Rachel F. Banks" she is unlikable, her death scene is not sad because the movie fails to make her someone we should even care about (we see that she is a selfish woman who only goes after married men, clearly women like this don't care about the affects that an affair will have on people's families) the writers do not give viewers a reason to like her, she's cold and standoffish and when she's not that she is paranoid and talks down to the only person that is giving her the time of day. They did not continue the affair, their meetings were business only, but considering their history it is understandable why "Carla" lost it and kicked "Robert" out, you don't have to be married to know that it's a bad idea to have business meetings with the person you used to have an affair with, you'd think a lawyer would know that."Enemy Of The State" also brings humour in the right places mainly between "Robert Dean" and "Carla Dean", small amounts of humour always works well in thriller movies.The mob aspect isn't that bad, if they'd have had more screen time it would have ruined the movie, mob depictions are extremely boring, thankfully that aspect took a back seat as a supporting role/circumstance.This cine is set around Christmastime which is a nice touch, there's just something about thrillers set around the holidays that makes them much more fun.

Crime-Drama-Thrillers has always been my favorite mix of genres and I was very excited to finally get to watch Enemy of the State. Not only because it was a different role for Will Smith but because of the great all around cast. And boy does it have a great cast. It turned out to be nothing too special. I think it's a decent drama for a Saturday or Sunday morning viewing on cable, but I cant say I'm going to willingly watch it again.The cast truly is terrific though. When you have Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Barry Pepper, and even Jack Black all in a movie together you expect greatness. They all give note-worthy performances, but I think the film lacked some focus in this area. At times it tried to give back stories to every one of the characters, even the ones we weren't really suppose to care about. If it were to have focused on only a select few of them, the film would have been more effective. Because of the lack of focus, you end up not really caring for any of the characters.I did really like the premise of the film. It deals with privacy and the effects and impact it has on everyone when it's abused. You begin to question to yourself just how much of our lives are watched and monitored. But I do feel like they could have gone even further with it and made it more personal. The Lives of Others is a much better film based around a similar premise. The film does feel original though. I didn't feel like they were copying any other action film even nearly 20 years after its release. You also definitely feel the 135 minute length. It could have used about a 20 minute trimming job. So with the possible pacing and focus issues the film turns out to be a solid drama, but one that also feels a bit disappointing at the same time.+Original premise +Fascinating privacy concepts +Cast -Pacing and lack of focus issues -Weak supporting characters -Feel the length 6.5/10