Thursday 5 May 2011

A-Z #75: Enemy of the State

You can pick up hundreds of DVDs for a round-pound each - it doesn't matter. It's never about quantity, it's about quality. A-Z is my way of going through my collection, from A-Z, and understanding why I own the films ... or you can tell me why I should sell 'em



#75 - Enemy of the State 

Why did I buy it?

Early in the days, before I even owned a DVD-player, we had a DVD player on the PC. My first DVD I owned - the first ever? Goldeneye. The one-disc, trailer-and-commentary-only package. But my sister had a friend who had two DVD's. More importantly, she let us borrow them and, alongside The Craft was Enemy of the State. Suffice to say, I liked Enemy of the State enough to buy it myself in due course.

Why do I still own it?

The film has Will Smith in a thriller role. Almost akin to North by Northwest, as Smith plays the man-who-has-done-nothing-wrong-but-gets-caught-up-in-some-big-scandal situation. Combine that with 1998 technology and Gene Hackman reprising his role from The Conversation and, voila, Enemy of the State. There are some oof-beat actors littered throughout - Jason Lee, Jamie Kennedy, Seth Green, Jack Black - all playing very serious roles. No jokes. No Mallrats-comedy or Nacho-Libre-puns and Austin-Powers-jokes. [semi-] Serious acting. This alongside Jon Voight, Gabriel Byrne, Barry Pepper and Tom Sizemore. Did I mention Gene Hackman and Will Smith?

I love the pace of Tony Scott and the use of the satellite cameras as we scan rooftops and busy roads, really giving a sense of constant-surveillance. It drags a little bit towards the end but, all in all, its a great film. Though, having watched it multiple times, I still don't get the bit at the end when Will Smith is looking at Gene Hackmans old-man legs and grinning ...  almost aroused by those legs on a beach ... and waving like a loon at the camera a-top his TV ... still a very strange ending ...
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8 comments:

  1. I really like this movie too. Early Jack Black and Seth Green are fun too. The way they use the satellite images does make you a bit afraid of the constant monitoring that is possible.

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  2. An actually pretty good and thrilling Tony Scott film probably because Will Smith is always so good at playing compelling leading men that we can get behind. Good Review!

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  3. @Jess - The strange thing about all the technology is that, now, it is all out of date. I'll bet satellites even look completely different now.

    @Dan O. - I think it is funny because I'll be you could group certain Tony Scott films together. Off the top of my head, MAN ON FIRE and DOMINO have a very similar kinasthetic energy to them.

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  4. I'm a big fan of this film as well. Such a tight little thriller from before Tony Scott went completely over the top

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  5. I like this one very much! Gene Hackman is almost playing Harry Caul 30 years later and I like your resemblance between it and North by Northwest. I totally agree on it but never saw that myself before reading your post.

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  6. @Tom - I think it remains pretty strgon as a film despite the dated technology. I mean, Google-Maps pretty much does the same thing... though not in real time.

    @Joel - I think we all know that Hitchcock generally feeds into most thrillers! When your stuck for an idea, Hollywood turns to Hitchcock

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  7. This flick thinks it's smarter than it is (by comparison, I'd say that Scott's Spy Game actually is smarter), but I still agree with y'all. It's a fun ride, not hurt by the awesome cast. Fast-paced, nods to The Conversation, and Smith just always makes for an appealing lead, even in not-so-great flicks (like I Am Legend).

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  8. @fletch - i shall hunt down spy game then!

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