ENEMY OF THE STATE (1998)

Released in a pre-9/11 America, this film was rather prescient about the ultra-surveillance state that we exist in today. After a Congressman’s assassination is accidentally caught on tape, the NSA stops at nothing to get rid of the evidence - ruining lives, murdering, and surveilling the shit out of Will Smith’s lawyer character. 

I want to start by saying that I love The Conversation (1974). Gene Hackman brings such an unease to his performance that it truly elevates the paranoia levels in the film. I had read in the IMDB trivia page that Enemy of the State also has Hackman playing a surveillance expert, so I thought I’d give it a try. My love of Hackman’s performance in The Conversation was fighting a good fight against my disdain for the Scott brothers (in this case, Tony). I stand by the belief that Top Gun is the only good thing he’s done. I don’t care for the way he uses the camera to tell the story. And don’t get me started on Ridley. Regardless, the film itself was a wild ride. Despite the casting feeling incredibly of the time (Jason Lee? Jack Black? Seth Green? Jamie Kennedy? In a political thriller?), the tech they used didn’t feel incredibly dated, because we’ve only continued advancing everything they were using (wiretapping, facial recognition, GPS tracking). I appreciated how well the film came full circle with all elements of the story, especially the Jon Voight/Tom Sizemore showdown. Many movies often rely too much on the “gotcha!” public reveal of people’s misdeeds, but I liked how this was resolved much better. It felt more real, which again, helped it feel less dated. One thing I didn’t love was that Jason Lee couldn’t outbike someone on foot while going downhill. Come on, man. Ain’t no way. 

I’d recommend this film to anyone who’s looking for a fun thriller. You don’t feel the 2+ hour runtime acutely, which is always good.

Food Recommendation: A hot dog. What’s more American than a hot dog? No one wants to know how it’s made, those who find out are disgusted, and they’re shaped like dicks. Like the dicks who ruin this country every day. Amen.