Enemy of the State (1998)

Directed by: Tony Scott | 131 minutes | action, drama, thriller | Actors: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet, Regina King, Stuart Wilson, Laura Cayouette, Loren Dean, Barry Pepper, Ian Hart, Jake Busey, Scott Caan, Jason Lee, Gabriel Byrne, James LeGros, Dan Butler, Jack Black, Jamie Kennedy, Bodhi Elfman, Jacob Chambers, Alexandra Balahoutis, Anna Gunn, Jascha Washington, Seth Green, Philip Baker Hall, Brian Markinson, Jason Robards, Tom Sizemore

‘Enemy of the State’ keeps the viewer on the edge of the seat or couch almost from the start. It is not possible to sit back and watch this film, you are involuntarily drawn into the exciting story about the invasion of the privacy of citizens and the use or abuse of the role of government institutions in this.

Robert Dean has it all, a successful law practice, a lovely wife, an adorable son and a beautiful home. He runs into an old classmate Zavitz (Jason Lee), although you can’t even speak of a real meeting. Because within five minutes, before Dean realizes what’s going on, his former school friend is killed in a horrific accident. Devastated, Dean goes home and it turns out that Zavitz has given him something (although Dean doesn’t know it), which the NSA has a very strong interest in getting back. An exciting and breathtaking chase story follows, which would give paranoid people sleepless nights.

Director Tony Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have previously worked together on (successful) films such as ‘Top Gun’, ‘Days of Thunder’, ‘Crimson Tide’ and ‘Beverly Hills Cop II’. Also in 2006 they will release a film together entitled ‘Deja Vu’, again an action/adventure film. With ‘Enemy of the State’ you get what you expect from these two gentlemen: a big-budget action movie, with explosions, chases and adrenaline, but also more, namely a good story and a great set of actors, please note: no movie stars, but actors!

Will Smith is perfectly cast for this role (Tom Cruise was also offered the part, but preferred to record ‘Eyes Wide Shut’). He comes across convincingly as the lawyer who loses everything he loved in no time. Gene Hackman is also extremely strong as the mysterious Brill. Excellent interplay between these two actors, the glances they exchange in the bus in front of Pintero’s restaurant says it all. The dialogues are also funny, such as when they drive away from Brill’s exploding office (“What the hell is happening?” “I blew up the building.” “Why?” “Because you made a phone call.”). Jon Voight is at his best as a villain. Other actors like Gabriel Byrne and Tom Sizemore are so briefly in the picture that they can be called cameos, but are also a joy to watch.

A large number of clichés are avoided in the story and that is an advantage. For example, Dean’s wife (Regina King) does not play a victim role, but is portrayed as an independent strong lady with a strong opinion of her own. The ending of the film could have been a lot more banal.

Also worth mentioning is the beautiful soundtrack, by former Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin. If what you see doesn’t make your heart beat faster, then you should open your ears! ‘Enemy of the State’ is one of the best action films of the 1990s. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you need to change this quickly. Because beware: you are being watched!