| Enemy of the State | |
|---|---|
_poster_art.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tony Scott |
| Written by | David Marconi |
| Produced by | Jerry Bruckheimer |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Dan Mindel |
| Edited by | Chris Lebenzon |
| Music by | |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release date |
|
Running time | 132 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90 million[1] |
| Box office | $250.8 million[1] |
Enemy of the State is a 1998 Americanpoliticalactionthriller film directed byTony Scott, produced byJerry Bruckheimer and written byDavid Marconi. The film starsWill Smith as a labor lawyer who becomes the target of a covert surveillance operation after unwittingly receiving evidence of a political assassination.Gene Hackman co-stars as a former intelligence operative who helps him evade the rogue agents. The supporting cast includesJon Voight,Regina King,Loren Dean,Jake Busey,Barry Pepper, andGabriel Byrne.
The film was released theatrically in the United States on November 20, 1998, byBuena Vista Pictures through itsTouchstone Pictures label. It was a commercial success, grossing $250.8 million worldwide against a budget of $90 million. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its fast-paced direction, original story, timely subject matter, and the performances of Smith and Hackman.
Congressman Phil Hammersley opposes a proposedcounterterrorism bill that would significantly expand surveillance powers for American intelligence agencies, arguing that it poses a threat to civil liberties. In response,National Security Agency (NSA) Assistant Director Thomas Reynolds, who supports the bill and stands to benefit professionally from its passage, orders Hammersley's assassination. His team stages the murder as a fatal car accident brought on by aheart attack.
Meanwhile, labor lawyer Robert Clayton Dean is working on a case involvingracketeer Paulie Pintero, leveraging avideotape — obtained through a surveillance contact known only as "Brill" — to coerce a favorable settlement. At the same time, wildlife biologist Daniel Zavitz discovers footage of Hammersley's murder captured by a remote camera; Reynolds sends his men after him. In a chance encounter, Zavitz discreetly slips the incriminating video disc into Dean's shopping bag before getting struck and killed in traffic. Reynolds' team finds Dean's business card on Zavitz's corpse and wrongly assumes that he knows about the tape.
NSA agents posing as police officers attempt to enter Dean's home without a warrant. When Dean blocks them, the agents later break in and plant surveillance devices in his clothes and personal effects. They also fabricate evidence linking him tomoney laundering and an affair with Rachel Banks, an ex-girlfriend and Brill's courier. As a result, Dean loses his job, has his bank account frozen by theIRS, and is kicked out by his wife Carla.
Desperate, Dean calls Rachel to get in touch with Brill. The NSA intercept the call and send an impostor, but the real Brill intervenes. Brill — revealed to be Edward Lyle, a former NSA communications expert in hiding — removes the bugs on Dean's person and reveals the NSA's involvement. When Rachel is later found murdered, Dean and Lyle locate the original disc and identify Reynolds as the mastermind. However, their hideout is raided, the disc is destroyed, and they are forced to flee.
Lyle reveals his past: he once worked in Iran during therevolution and escaped after his partner, Rachel's father, was killed. He now lives off the grid. While Lyle urges Dean to disappear, Dean insists on exposing Reynolds. They record Congressman Sam Albert, a supporter of the surveillance bill, in a compromising situation, then manipulate Reynolds into believing he is being blackmailed. They lure him into a meeting under the pretense of trading the tape.
At the meeting, Dean deceives Reynolds by claiming the tape is hidden at Pintero's restaurant, which is under federal surveillance. Reynolds confronts Pintero, who misinterprets the demand as a threat involving separate evidence. A shootout ensues between the gangsters and NSA agents, leaving most of the participants dead. Lyle streams the confrontation to the FBI, prompting a raid that ends the standoff. Reynolds' involvement is exposed.
In the aftermath, the surveillance bill is canceled by American federal legislators, the NSA covers up Reynolds' rogue operation, and Dean is exonerated. He reunites with Carla. Lyle, having escaped again, sends Dean a covert farewell message via television, showing himself enjoying life in a tropical hideaway.
The cast also includesStuart Wilson as Congressman Sam Albert,Laura Cayouette as Christa Hawkins,James LeGros as Jerry Miller,Dan Butler as Shaffer,Anna Gunn as Emily Reynolds,Jascha Washington as Eric Dean,Lillo Brancato andJohn Capodice as restaurant workers,Ivana Milicevic as a lingerie store clerk,Arthur J. Nascarella as Frankie,Grant Heslov as Lenny, and Lennox Brown as a tunnel maintenance worker. Portraying members of Reynolds' NSA team areIan Hart as Bingham,Bodhi Elfman as Van, and an uncreditedSeth Green as Selby.Jason Robards,Tom Sizemore, andPhilip Baker Hall make uncredited appearances as Congressman Phillip Hammersley, Paulie Pintero, and Mark Silverberg, respectively. Donna W. Scott, director Tony Scott's wife, plays Jenny.Larry King appears as himself.
Principal photography forEnemy of the State took place primarily inBaltimore,Maryland, with additional scenes set inWashington, D.C. Filming began with location shoots on a ferry in theFell's Point neighborhood. In mid-January 1998, the production relocated toLos Angeles, where filming continued through April of that year.[2]
ScreenwriterDavid Marconi developed the original script over a period of two years while working under producerJerry Bruckheimer at Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films, with development overseen by executiveLucas Foster. DirectorOliver Stone initially expressed interest in the project, but Bruckheimer ultimately selectedTony Scott, continuing their long-standing collaboration.[3] Uncredited rewrites were later contributed byAaron Sorkin,Henry Bean, andTony Gilroy.[4]
Casting considerations for the lead role includedMel Gibson andTom Cruise, before the part ultimately went toWill Smith, who was eager to work alongsideGene Hackman and reunite with Bruckheimer following their collaboration onBad Boys (1995).George Clooney was also reportedly considered for a role.Sean Connery was approached for the role of Edward Lyle, which eventually went to Hackman.[5]
The film is notable for including several actors—later known for more prominent roles—in minor supporting parts. Casting director Victoria Thomas attributed this to the appeal of working with Hackman. Atechnical surveillance counter-measures consultant was brought onto the crew to advise on authenticity and appeared in acameo as a spy shop clerk.
In a nod to Hackman's earlier work, Lyle'sNSA personnel file features a photo of the actor fromThe Conversation (1974), a similarly themed espionage thriller.[6]
The film's soundtrack album, titledEnemy of the State (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) and featuringHarry Gregson-Williams andTrevor Rabin's musical score, was recorded at Arctic Circle Studios in Iceland and Todd-AO Scoring Stage inHollywood, California and was released on 24 November 1998 byHollywood Records.
Enemy of the State grossed $111.5 million in the United States and Canada and $139.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $250.8 million. It was produced on a budget of $90 million, making it a commercial success.[1]
The film opened in second place at the domestic box office behindThe Rugrats Movie, earning $20 million from 2,393 theaters during its opening weekend, with a per-theater average of $8,374.[7] In its second and third weekends, it grossed $18.1 million and $9.7 million, respectively, finishing in third place on both occasions.[1]
Enemy of the State received generally favorable reviews from critics. OnRotten Tomatoes,Enemy of the State holds an approval rating of 71% based on 84 reviews, with an average score of 6.44/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "An entertaining, topical thriller that finds directorTony Scott on solid form andWill Smith confirming his action headliner status."[8] OnMetacritic, it has a score of 67 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[10]
Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times praised the film's style and energy, noting that its "pizazz overcomes occasional lapses in moment-to-moment plausibility."[11]Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times commended the action set-pieces but criticized its adherence to the formulaic tendencies of the Simpson-Bruckheimer production style.[12]David Sterritt ofThe Christian Science Monitor gave the film a two out of four scoring, stating that "the movie has plenty of high-tech power, spinning out action so explosive you'll hardly notice how preposterous the story is or how cardboard-thin the characters are."[13] Edvins Beitiks of theSan Francisco Examiner echoed similar praise for its technical execution while questioning the realism of its portrayal of government surveillance capabilities.[14]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times awarded the film three out of four stars, writing that although the climax "edges perilously close to the ridiculous," the film remains engaging, highlighting strong performances byJon Voight andGene Hackman.[15]
Film criticKim Newman observed thatEnemy of the State acts as a thematic continuation ofThe Conversation (1974), noting Hackman's portrayal of a similarly reclusive surveillance expert, and suggesting an intentional intertextual link between the two films.[16][6]
| Award | Date of the ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAACP Image Awards | 14 February 1999 | Outstanding Motion Picture | Enemy of the State | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | Will Smith | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | Regina King | Nominated | |||
| MTV Movie & TV Awards | 5 June 1999 | Best Actor in a Movie | Will Smith | Nominated | [17] |
| Teen Choice Awards | 1 August 1999 | Choice Movie – Drama | Enemy of the State | Nominated | [18] |
| Choice Movie Actor | Will Smith | Nominated |
In October 2016,ABC announced it had green-lit a television series sequel to the film, with Bruckheimer to return as producer. The series would take place two decades after the original film, where "an elusive NSA spy is charged with leaking classified intelligence, an idealistic female attorney must partner with a hawkish FBI agent to stop a global conspiracy".[19] However, nothing ever came to fruition.
The film portrayed theNational Security Agency (NSA) as possessing near-omniscient surveillance capabilities. In aPBSNova episode titled "The Spy Factory", intelligence experts clarified that while the NSA can intercept communications, the process of connecting and analyzing such data is far more complex than depicted in the film.[20]
GeneralMichael Hayden, who became NSA Director shortly after the film's release, expressed concern over the public's perception shaped by the movie. He remarked, "I made the judgment that we couldn't survive with the popular impression of this agency being formed by the last Will Smith movie."[21] According to journalistJames Risen in his bookState of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration, Hayden was "appalled" by the film's depiction and initiated a public relations campaign to counteract the image presented.[22]
Following theSeptember 11 attacks and the enactment of the USAPatriot Act, as well as the 2013 revelations byEdward Snowden regarding the NSA'sPRISM andBoundless Informant programs,Enemy of the State has been retrospectively regarded as prescient. The disclosures revealed extensive electronic surveillance capabilities, including the collection of emails, phone calls, and browsing data, both domestically and internationally.[23]
In a 2013 article forThe Guardian, journalist John Patterson argued that films likeEnemy of the State andEchelon Conspiracy (2009) helped normalize the concept of ubiquitous government surveillance in popular culture. He suggested that such Hollywood thrillers may have "softened up" public opinion to accept the reality of mass data collection and diminished privacy in the digital age.[24]
