Enemy of the State (1998)

There's one thing you can be sure of: If a movie produced by Jerry Bruckheimer raises an issue, it will do so without an ounce of subtlety and intelligence. The point will be so obvious and one-sided it begs belief. If George Orwell saw "Enemy of the State" he would probably give up and demand all copies of his books be burned.

But, message is hardly the main thing when Bruckheim makes a movie, money is. So let's see if we can't find another reason to see this flick.

It's rather obvious: Tony Scott knows how to direct a thriller. He makes sure there is enough going on to keep you from getting bored, cross-cuts nicely for flow and makes decent chase-scenes and action-pieces so you'll be entertained. 139 minutes does stretch Scott's talent, but most of the time he makes the best of it. Furthermore he has (at least for the second half) Gene Hackman in very nice form adding some much needed gruff and comical relief.

But wait, Will Smith stars here! Surely, there is no need for comical relief? Well, we're back to money. Smith is a dire miscast in this film, not able to make himself believable as neither a lawyer, a paranoid nut or a husband (he's OK with the kids). He seems like he does his "Fresh Prince - 15 years later routine", and as that show ran for 6 season, we've all had more than enough of it.

The casting really reeks of the single motivation of dollars here. Apart from Jason Robards, the casting is so unimaginative, the programmers from Windows 98 could have done it. Jon Voight as a shrewd and evil government man? He could play that in his sleep (and does so here), Seth Green and Jack Black as nerdy tech-guys with questionable personal hygiene, Tom Sizemore as a mobster, Barry Pepper as a hard-boiled, no-nonsense agent, and Jason Lee as an environmental hippie. Really? Again? Even Caan is so exceptionally type-cast it makes you wonder if anyone were allowed an independent thought during casting. Lisa Bonet is just utterly misused in a part that leaves no clue as to why anyone would be interested in her (apart from looks of course), whereas Jason Robards is more memorable (though dead in 14 minutes or so). So yes; Hackman is very much needed.

Scott has a very nice end-game that adds much-needed smartness, but a daft closing line once again overstating the message in the film still leaves me with a sour taste.

In conclusion, it's the best we have come to expect from the production of Jerry Bruckheimer; it's stupid but at most times entertaining.

5/10