Enemy of the State (1998)

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

What an excellent exciting hi Tec Thriller this is!!! A 90s Classic that i watched so many times on video & absolutely love it. Will Smith gives a BRILLIANT performance here as Robert Clayton Dean a lawyer who's life gets turned up side down when he's targeted by the government!!! Gene Hackman the legendary actor is also fantastic as well as the BRILLIANT John voight this movie is full of great actors a really good cast & it introduced me to the BRILLIANT BARRY PEPPER & JACK BLACK!!! ENEMY OF THE STATE is a real exciting chase Thriller with tons of Action & great performances!!! One of Smith's best movies & one of the best Thrillers ever MADE!!!

In today's technology-advanced/obsessed culture, stories continually stream in regarding the legality of surveillance. Heck, one of the most popular television programs on the airwaves today--"Person Of Interest"--deals almost exclusively with that subject. Back in 1998, however, the duo of Jerry Bruckheimer (producer) and Tony Scott (director) teamed up to make an action- adventure extravaganza in "Enemy Of The State". In doing so, they happened to stumble across a concept (pervasive surveillance) that was years ahead of its dramatic time.For a basic plot summary, "Enemy of The State" focuses on Robert Dean (Will Smith), a man who is unknowingly pulled into an NSA chase plot when he happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. With head NSA official Thomas Reynolds (Jon Voigt) pulling out all the stops to get his man, Dean must enlist the help of the mysterious "Bryll" (Gene Hackman), who knows a thing or two about surveillance himself.This movie really holds up well over time because it was so far ahead of its time in terms of themes. Before 9/11 or everyone having a personal computer in their pocket at all times, "Enemy of The State" espouses on the dangers of said technologies and how they can be manipulated for either good or bad ends. In all honesty, this is a plot that could easily be a "Person of Interest" episode.Sadly, the film doesn't do many other things well. Hackman has a very good role, but the rest of the cast is quite under-done, providing almost no emotional attachments to the proceedings. The plot is also rather simple/predictable, although perhaps that is due to the fact that such stories are so commonplace as to be blase now.All in all, "Enemy of the State" is as average as it is odd. It is an action piece at heart, yet it's best moments come in the phases where it slows down and really examines its themes. Unfortunately, that is not the Bruckheimer style of film-making, so most of the time that pace moves ahead at breakneck speed. I would usually criticize a film more heavily for taking this approach, but for some reason I am willing to accept that this film probably actually turned out better than it even should have been.

Will Smith definitely doesn't disappoint the audience. He's extremely talented actor, and he adds his own charm to each character he plays. Of course some might find that annoying, but in the end his charm is what makes even the otherwise unlikable characters sympathetic. I read that Tom Cruise was first considered to play the main character. There are people out there who love Cruise but I personally could not like Robert Dean if played by him. I think I've only seen one movie by Tony Scott before, and that was Domino. In Domino I was annoyed by the overuse of the special effects and weird cinematography. In Enemy of the State Scott's input is clear, but it is definitely easier to follow this one. Sure, weird effects are used, but not all the time, and while some shots are still "artsy" in a way, it doesn't affect the whole movie, just few scenes, during which it's not always easy to even notice. Enemy of the State is an excellent thriller. It's the antagonist that makes you sit on the edge of your seat - NSA has satellites and basically eyes everywhere, how is one person going to outrun all that? I love the use of NSA as the antagonist, since it feels all powerful, and it makes the film still very current. This is one of those movies that make conspiracy theorists wet themselves, yet isn't too far fetched. All the chase scenes are excellently executed, and the feeling of helplessness is extremely thrilling. The only annoying thing is that sometimes the technology doesn't seem believable. Would there really be a surveillance camera in a lingerie shop that would be good enough for someone to almost get a full 360 degree view of the shop? That didn't seem real. Enemy of the state is a marvellous movie. It has clever twists and interesting characters, even if most of them are just plain annoying - all that is saved by Will Smith's charisma, and the main character's family. That way there's at least someone who to root for. I definitely recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. This is, no doubt, one of the best thrillers out there.

This was a more than decent conspiracy thriller, although in saying that I do remember being way more impressed and freaked out by all the big brother technology when I first saw it in 98 than I did now in my re-watch. Most of the techno stuff is now so common place that we don't even consider it and it doesn't feel like such a threat as it did back then.I liked the cast here a lot, Will Smith does a great job as Robert Dean whose life is turned upside down after an old friend slips him evidence regarding a congressman's murder. Dean quickly loses his job & his wife, has his bank accounts frozen and becomes a fugitive whose only hope is a cat loving mysterious former intelligence agent played by the very cranky but oh so good Gene Hackman. Jon Voight is also worth a mention as the head bad guy, as is a very sweaty and bloated Tom Sizemore as Pintero, the mob boss.Some great action sequences along the way, although far fetched to a degree as Will is just a lawyer but after he goes on the run suddenly becomes an action hero, able to evade bad guys, scale balconies and use a pump action shot gun like a hit man. The ending is well done, a little tricky including an excellent shoot out.Exceptional secondary cast here too including Barry Pepper, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Gabriel Byrne, Jason Lee and two second generation stars teaming up in Jake Busy and Scott Caan. 2/10/16