Enemy of the State

Will Smith, Gene Hackman. Tony Scott, director. Touchstone Pictures, 1998.

Actually, I'm surprised by the year (1998) - I would have thought that this movie was daring, in bringing out such a "government-questioning" flick in this post-911 world (in which we are not supposed to question government's motives regarding anything labelled as "anti-terrorist" !!) but then, I suppose I'll just consider the movie prophetic.

This movie is one of the most fantastic flicks I've seen, and well-deserving of all those heaps of excessive praise that are always plastered over the DVD box. WEll-written, well-acted, well-edited. This is indeed a story well-told.

Basic plot: Smith gets involved in a small government official's murder of a big kahuna, and then is hunted by the best covert ops that the USA gots! Best aspect to the movie has to be the geeks who follow Smith throughout the city. They lend a sense of humour to the action, and sometimes you actually find yourself rooting for them, just because they're so . . . cool!

Other than that, there's really not much to tell (which is unusual for me, I know) but suffice it to say that, simply put - you MUST see this film. I'd even suggest it as a film for several close friends, getting some popcorn and just killing an evening watching this thing.

Enemy of the State is near-perfect storytelling. Full stop.

VG