SNMR 1.11: "Enemy of the State"

Tonight's SNMR feature is "Enemy of the State" (1998, R, 140 minutes) starring Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Regina King, Loren Dean, Lisa Bonet, Jake Busey, Barry Pepper and Jack Black. The film was directed by Tony Scott. I'm actually watching the unrated extended special edition.

The first time I watched this movie was probably in 1999 or 2000 and I still remember how freaked out I was at the end. Freaked out not because the movie was horror movie scary but because the government can really do these things to someone, if they want to. The surveillance technology depicted in this film is very realistic. It makes one question how much personal privacy we really have.

From the DVD's dust jacket:

Hot Hollywood favorite Will Smith (Independence Day, Men in Black, Ali) stars with Academy Award winner Gene Hackman (Best Actor, 1971 for The French Connection; The Firm, Crimson Tide) in a high-powered suspense thriller where nonstop action meets cutting edge technology! Robert Clayton Dean (Smith) is a successful Washington, DC attorney, who - without his knowledge - is given a video that ties a top official of the National Security Agency (played by Jon Voight - Pearl Harbor, National Treasure, Mission Impossible) to a political murder! A lethal team of skilled NSA operatives wages a relentless, ultra-high-tech campaign to discredit Dean and retrieve the incriminating evidence! Also featuring Regina King (Jerry Maguire, Boyz 'N the Hood, Ray) in an impressive, star-studded cast - get ready for even more action to explode as Dean desperately races to reclaim his once normal life in this Extended Edition packed with bonus material!

From Martin and Porter's DVD & Video Guide 2006, p. 350:

If it's possible for a film to be too visually dynamic, then this is it. Director Tony Scott, obsessed with unbridled technology and rapid-fire style-for-it's-own-sake, nearly overwhelms the intriguing story at the heart of this disturbing commentary on the fragility of personal privacy. Will Smith stars as a lawyer who gets sucked into a conspiracy case involving a rogue NSA dirty-trickster who killed a U.S. Congressman. Our hero's life is turned upside down until he meets up with a former agent with lots of answers. When all is said and done, credibility isn't so much stretched as mangled beyond recognition. But it does succeed on a "kick-ass" level.

Will Smith is excellent in the lead role and Gene Hackman has always been one of my favorite actors, ever since I saw him play Lex Luthor in the original Superman movie. Jon Voight makes a good scum-bag. But the real star of this movie in my opinion is the technology. The script is well-written and the action is virtually non-stop. Over the top? Probably. Does it matter? Nope. Not many movies freak me out like this one did. This is a must own movie. I'll give this movie five out of five stars.