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"Enemy of the State"
Overall Rating: ****
About two years ago, my parents and I were dining at the Olive Garden in Daytona Beach, returning from a trip to Miami to see a friend of my mother's. When we tried to pay for dinner with our credit card, it was rejected, and the credit card company told the clerk to have us call the credit card company. It turned out that our credit card company through routine monitoring of charge patterns, found a discrepancy; the cause in our case was someone who stole our charge card number, and used it to steal $4000 in electronics. An incident like that makes you wonder just who is watching you--and how closely?
"Enemy of the State" answers: the government and very closely. When Robert Dean (Will Smith), a Washington D. C. labor lawyer, runs into a college buddy during his Christmas shopping, the reunion will cause his life to unravel. His friend--who is killed shortly afterwards--drops a videodisc in his bag, and a group of rogue government agents want it back. In their attempts to retrieve it, they will break into his house, discredit him with his law partners and wife through a planted news story, and cancel all his credit cards. But Dean has a resource of his own: a private investigator named Brill (Gene Hackman) who has helped him on many of his cases and who knows how the government agents work. If only Dean can find him.
"Enemy of the State" will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout its two-and-a-half hours. Dean is never more than half a step ahead of the pursuing agents. The action never lets up. There are plenty of good chase sequences, such as those in the hotel and the tunnel.
The plot is tightly woven. There is nothing extraneous; things that, at first, seem irrelevant or insignificant turn out to be crucial. A good example is the episode where Dean tries to influence a mobster with a videotape; this seems only to be establishing character, and perhaps ironically foreshadowing--but it actually turns out to be a key point when the government agents go after Dean.
Will Smith is perfect as Robert Dean. The character is nothing new to him; we've seen this suave wise-guy lawyer before as the pilot Hiller in "Independence Day" and secret-agent J in "Men in Black." While I'd like to see more variety from the actor, he is perfectly cast for the film. Gene Hackman is also good as Brill--the man who knows every trick in the book, but wants to be left alone. This creates a nice internal conflict--rarely seen in action films--for him: save Dean, or let the government agents tear him apart and preserve his privacy. Jon Voight is also excellent as Reynolds, the bureaucrat who wants to be an autocrat. The bit characters such as Pintero (the mobster), Dean's college friend, and the hordes of nerds who round out the picture are often entertaining themselves.
"Enemy of the State" isn't perfect. Dean and Brill work, they are in many ways stock characters, as are all the characters. There is also too much implied towards the end. Though, it does make sense if you think about it, one or two lines on the subject would have helped. The film also makes frequent use of sharp, jerky cuts and electronic sounds to symbolize the extent of the surveillance; unfortunately, this technique is both annoying and cliche.
"Enemy of the State" is in many ways reminiscent of "Conspiracy Theory," and to a certain extent, "The Fugitive." It's accurate promotional line, "It's not paranoia if they're really after you," is enough to tell you that. It's not very original, and it's probably too violent for young children (its R rating is only for violence and strong language, though if I were rating it, I'd have given it a PG-13). Nonetheless, "Enemy of the State" has plenty of action to keep you entertained. If you liked "Independence Day" or "Conspiracy Theory" it's definitely worth a look for both you and that elusive "them."
Title: "Enemy of the State"
Release date: November 20, 1998
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: ****
Aprox. run time: 140 min.
Director: Tony Scott
Writer: David Marconi
Stars: Will Smith, Gene Hackman
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/reviewsbyjohn/Enemy_St.htm
Added to blog site: 7/27/09
Overall Rating: ****
About two years ago, my parents and I were dining at the Olive Garden in Daytona Beach, returning from a trip to Miami to see a friend of my mother's. When we tried to pay for dinner with our credit card, it was rejected, and the credit card company told the clerk to have us call the credit card company. It turned out that our credit card company through routine monitoring of charge patterns, found a discrepancy; the cause in our case was someone who stole our charge card number, and used it to steal $4000 in electronics. An incident like that makes you wonder just who is watching you--and how closely?
"Enemy of the State" answers: the government and very closely. When Robert Dean (Will Smith), a Washington D. C. labor lawyer, runs into a college buddy during his Christmas shopping, the reunion will cause his life to unravel. His friend--who is killed shortly afterwards--drops a videodisc in his bag, and a group of rogue government agents want it back. In their attempts to retrieve it, they will break into his house, discredit him with his law partners and wife through a planted news story, and cancel all his credit cards. But Dean has a resource of his own: a private investigator named Brill (Gene Hackman) who has helped him on many of his cases and who knows how the government agents work. If only Dean can find him.
"Enemy of the State" will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout its two-and-a-half hours. Dean is never more than half a step ahead of the pursuing agents. The action never lets up. There are plenty of good chase sequences, such as those in the hotel and the tunnel.
The plot is tightly woven. There is nothing extraneous; things that, at first, seem irrelevant or insignificant turn out to be crucial. A good example is the episode where Dean tries to influence a mobster with a videotape; this seems only to be establishing character, and perhaps ironically foreshadowing--but it actually turns out to be a key point when the government agents go after Dean.
Will Smith is perfect as Robert Dean. The character is nothing new to him; we've seen this suave wise-guy lawyer before as the pilot Hiller in "Independence Day" and secret-agent J in "Men in Black." While I'd like to see more variety from the actor, he is perfectly cast for the film. Gene Hackman is also good as Brill--the man who knows every trick in the book, but wants to be left alone. This creates a nice internal conflict--rarely seen in action films--for him: save Dean, or let the government agents tear him apart and preserve his privacy. Jon Voight is also excellent as Reynolds, the bureaucrat who wants to be an autocrat. The bit characters such as Pintero (the mobster), Dean's college friend, and the hordes of nerds who round out the picture are often entertaining themselves.
"Enemy of the State" isn't perfect. Dean and Brill work, they are in many ways stock characters, as are all the characters. There is also too much implied towards the end. Though, it does make sense if you think about it, one or two lines on the subject would have helped. The film also makes frequent use of sharp, jerky cuts and electronic sounds to symbolize the extent of the surveillance; unfortunately, this technique is both annoying and cliche.
"Enemy of the State" is in many ways reminiscent of "Conspiracy Theory," and to a certain extent, "The Fugitive." It's accurate promotional line, "It's not paranoia if they're really after you," is enough to tell you that. It's not very original, and it's probably too violent for young children (its R rating is only for violence and strong language, though if I were rating it, I'd have given it a PG-13). Nonetheless, "Enemy of the State" has plenty of action to keep you entertained. If you liked "Independence Day" or "Conspiracy Theory" it's definitely worth a look for both you and that elusive "them."
Title: "Enemy of the State"
Release date: November 20, 1998
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: ****
Aprox. run time: 140 min.
Director: Tony Scott
Writer: David Marconi
Stars: Will Smith, Gene Hackman
Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/reviewsbyjohn/Enemy_St.htm
Added to blog site: 7/27/09
Labels: Movie review, ReviewsbyJohn
posted by John at 11/23/1998 03:47:00 AM
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