THE REWATCHABLES · April 9, 2020
A 1998 action / thriller directed by Tony Scott, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
Robards and Voight's opening conversation is treated as a strong and classy introduction before the murder and dog-in-danger sequence.
Opening minutesA fast, chaotic chase through rooftops, store backs, a bike, and a bus is singled out as one of the movie's signature set pieces.
About 40 minHackman's first scene, including the GPS/satellite explanation, is treated as a movie-making turning point.
About 40 minThe hideout explosion and escape by car and train are praised as a great action sequence with Hackman in command.
About 48 minThe movie briefly relaxes into an odd calm where Hackman and Smith go get breakfast after the action.
About 48 min · medium confidenceWill Smith crashing the mob dinner is admired for its tension and Tom Sizemore's wild performance.
About 48 minThe intense questioning scene is memorable, though some of Smith's acting choices in it are seen as overdone.
About 48 minThe movie's closet fire escape is mocked as ridiculous and implausible but still thrilling.
About 48 minJack Black's surveillance-camera enhancement scene is cited as one of the film's most absurd and least believable ideas.
About 48 minThe tunnel and vehicle-chase material is praised for its speed, confusion, and tension, though the physics are mocked.
About 1:20WHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsHe sometimes feels unready for the dramatic material and can seem like self-parody.
Sean FennesseyHe is still a major star, but his choices suggest he protects his brand too much.
Chris RyanHe works best in mainstream spectacle; the film shows both his strengths and limitations.
Bill SimmonsHackman wins the movie, while Bonet wins everything else.
Sean FennesseyHackman wins because he makes every scene feel important.
Chris RyanHackman is the clear winner, with Bonet as a major highlight.
Bill SimmonsYes, the premise could support a detailed 10-episode remake.
Sean FennesseyYes, especially as a man-on-the-run or 24-style paranoid series.
Chris RyanYes, the cast and premise could sustain deeper plotting.
Says he rewatched the movie immediately and that it remains irresistible when it is on TV.
Opening minutesCalls it a techno version of North by Northwest and a classical paranoid thriller updated through Tony Scott's style.
Opening minutesPlaces the movie in Tony Scott's second tier rather than his absolute peak, but still very strong.
Opening minutesArgues Hackman's 1986-1998 run is one of the great actor runs and that he became a credibility machine for movies.
About 8 minSays Hackman knew how to pick projects opposite younger stars and then outshine them without playing diminished elder roles.
About 16 minArgues Smith had a chance for an all-time career but often chose too strategically and avoided riskier, more challenging roles.
About 24 minSays Smith's career compressed quickly into big sequels and spectacles, with less mystery than great prestige stars.
About 24 minPicks the rooftop-and-store chase as one of the film's best stretches and an apex Tony Scott sequence.
About 40 minSays Hackman's arrival and immediate technical exposition are one of the movie's key pleasures.
About 40 minChooses the lair escape and explosion as his favorite sequence, especially the moment Hackman blows up the building.
About 48 minAgrees that the hideout sequence is the movie's best stretch and says it could have supported even more screen time.
About 48 minDescribes Bonet as an icon and one of the most beautiful and compelling presences of the 1980s and 1990s.
About 1:12Says the film credibly sells both the affair with Lisa Bonet and the marriage to Regina King, which not all Smith movies do.
About 1:12Argues the movie's fragmented, disorienting chase style works because it puts viewers inside the paranoia.
About 1:20The episode treats the movie as a warning about government monitoring, telecom cooperation, and the tradeoff between safety and privacy.
Opening minutesThe style of the movie mirrors its subject matter: the camera seems to spy, poke, and intrude.
Opening minutesHackman is framed as a rare actor who elevates every movie he joins, especially opposite younger stars.
About 8 minThe film is placed in a wave of 90s movies that feared emerging internet and digital life.
Opening minutesAaron Sorkin and Tony Gilroy are mentioned as uncredited rewrites on the script.
About 32 minThe NSA reportedly refused to cooperate with production.
About 1:20The movie was made on a $90 million budget and grossed about $250 million.
About 40 minThe security-camera gag is criticized as technically absurd even by the standards of the time.
About 48 minThe portable game device in the son's scene is identified as an NEC Turbo Express.
About 1:20Thomas Reynolds's birth date in the movie is 9/11/1940.
About 1:20Chris compares Enemy of the State to a techno version of Hitchcockian paranoia.
Opening minutesThe hosts frame Hackman's role as a dialogue with Coppola's surveillance film.
Opening minutesCited as one of the 1970s paranoia thrillers this film echoes.
Opening minutesNamed with other 1970s conspiracy thrillers as a key influence.
Opening minutesUsed as an example of mid-1990s techno-anxiety movies.
Opening minutesAnother 1990s tech-paranoia title cited alongside The Net.
Opening minutesSean notes that Hackman's character and the overall mood suggest a sequel-like relationship.
About 1:20Referenced as a comparison for tunnel escape sequences and man-on-the-run plotting.
About 1:20Mentioned alongside The Fugitive as another classic tunnel escape film.
About 1:20Used as a reference for Tarantino-style dialogue and mob-dinner energy.
About 48 minRaised as a hypothetical Hackman-Connery role swap and as a possible future Rewatchables episode.
About 1:20Part of the run that made Will Smith the biggest star in the world at the time.
About 24 minCited as part of Will Smith's superstar run.
About 24 minIncluded in the trio of massive Will Smith hits that preceded this film.
About 24 minDiscussed as Smith's most ambitious and arguably best performance, though the movie itself disappoints them.
About 32 minThe hosts repeatedly treat Bonet as an icon and joke that she should have been a bigger movie star.
About 1:12Hackman is repeatedly described as the actor who elevates every scene and every co-star around him.
About 8 minThe hosts joke that Scott's camera behaves like the surveillance system the movie warns about.
Opening minutesSizemore's spaghetti scene and general vibe become a recurring joke about intensity and decline.
About 48 minThe hosts repeatedly mock and admire characters outpacing cars, helicopters, and impossible camera systems.
About 40 min“It's a techno version of North by Northwest.”Opening minutes
“The government's been in bed with the entire telecommunications industry”About 8 min
“You made a phone call!”About 48 min
“I blew up the building!”About 48 min
“I believe the proper term for me is eggplant”About 48 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Enemy of the State, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Chris RyanThe Rewatchables
Sean FennesseyThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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