Year:
1998
Studio:
Touchstone Pictures/
Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Movie:
3/5
DVD:
1/5
Teaser
Robert Dean (Will Smith) is a successfull lawyer with a loving wife and
small boy. Thomas Reynolds (Jon Voight) is an assistant director at the
CIA, who wants to push through a Homeland Security Bill through
Congress. He wants it bad enough that he has an opposing Congressman
killed while Reynolds watches. But as it so happens, Daniel Zavitz
(Jason Lee), a local naturalist studying some bird migratory patterns,
has captured the whole thing with an automatic video camera.
The bad guys find out and use the vast resourced of the CIA to track
down Zavitz and chase him. This doesn't last long before Zavitz bumps
into Dean and slips him the tape, just before he runs off again and is
killed in a traffic accident. Soon the CIA is also on Dean's case and
they frame him and try to ruin his life. Desperate, Dean turns to Brill
(Gene Hackman), a resource that has been helping Dean with a mob case
(Dean thinks it's all the mob's fault). Soon they're both running
because Brill knows it's the CIA but Dean still doesn't know why so
they have to find out before the CIA finds them.
Movie
"Enemy of the State" is an action/adventure movie. The main motif is
that the US Government (in the form of the CIA) has enough surveillance
assets to seriously monitor everyone they want. If they decide to get
on your case, the only privacy you'll have is what you think and don't
say out loud. This may all be true but I'm not particularly worried
about it myself.
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There is a lot
of action, especially chases. Explosions, crashes,
high-tech equipment being used left and right. It all leads down to a
final and a bit unexpected final confrontation reminiscent of a
Tarantino movie. It is kind of neat how everything does wrap up to this
climatic scene.
Actors
There are a lot of people I recognize in the movie. Will Smith, Gene
Hackman, and Jon Voight all are well-known actors and do fine jobs in
this movie. Lisa Bonet plays Dean's old girlfriend Rachel. Loren Dean
plays Reynolds chief lieutenant Hicks. Barry Pepper plays Reynolds
chief operative Pratt. Jake Busey is a CIA operative who is led to
believe this is all a training mission. Jason Lee I've already
mentioned as the second victim. Gabriel Byrne (who was in "The Ususal
Suspects") plays a small role as a CIA agent impersonating Brill. Jack
Black is the chief bad guy CIA technician, though I'm not too sure how
much he really knows.
DVD
The movie is in television wide-screen format. Bonus material is
limited to a theatrical trailer and two 2-1/2 minute "featurettes". Its
rather disappointing.
Recommendations
Will Smith action/adventure movie. Other than "Wild Wild West" that
means entertainment. I recommend watching this movie.
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