Bad Government Will Smith, Gene Hackman Revive Paranoid-Thriller Genre With ‘Enemy Of The State’
If there are government surveillance cameras pointed directly at my house, monitoring my every move, what I want to know is this: Can they be programmed to stop me the next time I make a frivolous J. Crew purchase? Can they prevent me from eating that fifth Tollhouse cookie?
Will Smith has bigger things on his mind, of course, in “Enemy of the State.” Cameras and hidden microphones are tracking him because snaky National Security Agency (NSA) officials, led by Jon Voight, have set him up for a murder rap. They’re destroying his reputation and his marriage (Regina King, from “Jerry Maguire,” plays his spunky wife), and the only person who believes Smith is innocent is a disturbingly antisocial computer expert played by Gene Hackman (“I’m hypoglycemic,” he deadpans, by way of explaining why he’s so dang cranky).
Hackman’s welcome presence reminds us that “Enemy of the State” has big clodhoppers to fill. It is an attempt to revive the paranoid-thriller genre of “The Conversation,” “The Parallax View” and “Three Days of the Condor,” movies that told us we should be scared of the new surveillance technology because the government would be happy to use it to screw up our lives. These movies got off on the creepy, one-man-against-the-world suspense of their characters’ dilemmas, and they’re a big part of what made the ‘70s such an entertaining decade to go to the movies.
“Enemy of the State” is not in that league because it needs to be a little more about thinking and a little less about running (the dialogue is mostly along the lines of, “Subject is in sight. Go, go, go!”). It is plot-driven, rather than character-driven, but it’s an involving movie because Smith is such a likable, sympathetic actor and because paranoia always works at the movies, which are all about spying on other people and never knowing what’s going to happen next.
Director Tony Scott (“Top Gun,” “Crimson Tide”) directs with his trademark whiz-bang style — much of the time, the camera appears to be playing crack-the-whip with the actors — but he gives the movie surprising, unexpected textures. I’m thinking of the NSA worker bees, for instance, who are not the usual, aging, white-collar, Robert Duvall-ish types, but smart-alecky youths you’d expect to see as guest maniacs on “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.”
One unwelcome presence is the most ubiquitous “actor” of the past couple of years. Duvall? No. Steve Buscemi? No. Bruce Willis? No, it’s Larry King “As Himself.” King gets the last word in “Enemy of the State,” and let’s hope it’s his last movie word, period.
“ENEMY OF THE STATE” Locations: Newport, Spokane Valley Mall, Post Falls Cinema Credits: Directed by Tony Scott, starring Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Regina King, Loren Dean, Jake Busey, Barry Pepper, Jason Lee, Gabriel Byrne, Lisa Bonet Running time: 2:07 Rating: R