Plot
Congressman Phil Hammersley opposes a proposed counterterrorism 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 a heart attack.
Meanwhile, labor lawyer Robert Clayton Dean becomes unwittingly entangled in the conspiracy. Dean is working on a case involving racketeer Paulie Pintero, leveraging a videotape — 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 break in and plant surveillance devices in his clothes and personal effects. They also fabricate evidence linking him to money 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 the IRS, 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 the revolution 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 shelved, 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.
Cast
The cast also includes Laura Cayouette as Christina Hawkins, Stuart Wilson as Congressman Sam Albert, James LeGros as Jerry Miller, Dan Butler as Shaffer, Anna Gunn as Emily Reynolds, Jascha Washington as Eric Dean, Lillo Brancato and John 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 are Ian Hart as Bingham, Bodhi Elfman as Van, and an uncredited Seth Green as Selby. Jason Robards, Tom Sizemore, and Philip 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.
Production
Principal photography for Enemy of the State took place primarily in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional scenes set in Washington, D.C. Filming began with location shoots on a ferry in the Fell’s Point neighborhood. In mid-January 1998, the production relocated to Los Angeles, where filming continued through April. [2]
Screenwriter David Marconi developed the original script over a period of two years while working under producer Jerry Bruckheimer at Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films, with development overseen by executive Lucas Foster. Director Oliver Stone initially expressed interest in the project, but Bruckheimer ultimately selected Tony Scott, continuing their long-standing collaboration. [3] Uncredited rewrites were later contributed by Aaron Sorkin, Henry Bean, and Tony Gilroy. [4]
Casting considerations for the lead role included Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise, before the part ultimately went to Will Smith, who was eager to work alongside Gene Hackman and reunite with Bruckheimer following their collaboration on Bad 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. A technical surveillance counter-measures consultant was brought onto the crew to advise on authenticity and appeared in a cameo as a spy shop clerk.
In a nod to Hackman's earlier work, Lyle’s NSA personnel file features a photo of the actor from The Conversation (1974), a similarly themed espionage thriller. [6]
Reception
Box office
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 behind The 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]
Critical response
Enemy of the State received generally favorable reviews from critics. On Rotten 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 director Tony Scott on solid form and Will Smith confirming his action headliner status." [8] On Metacritic, it has a score of 67 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." [9] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. [10]
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times praised the film's style and energy, noting that its "pizazz overcomes occasional lapses in moment-to-moment plausibility." [11] Janet Maslin of The New York Times commended the action set-pieces but criticized its adherence to the formulaic tendencies of the Simpson-Bruckheimer production style. [12] Edvins Beitiks of the San Francisco Examiner echoed similar praise for its technical execution while questioning the realism of its portrayal of government surveillance capabilities. [13]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago 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 by Jon Voight and Gene Hackman. [14]
Film critic Kim Newman observed that Enemy of the State acts as a thematic continuation of The Conversation (1974), noting Hackman's portrayal of a similarly reclusive surveillance expert, and suggesting an intentional intertextual link between the two films. [15] [6]
Real life
Public perception and NSA response
The film portrayed the National Security Agency (NSA) as possessing near-omniscient surveillance capabilities. In a PBS Nova 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. [19]
General Michael 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." [20] According to journalist James Risen in his book State 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. [21]
Prescience and cultural impact
Following the September 11 attacks and the enactment of the USA Patriot Act, as well as the 2013 revelations by Edward Snowden regarding the NSA's PRISM and Boundless 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. [22]
In a 2013 article for The Guardian , journalist John Patterson argued that films like Enemy of the State and Echelon 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. [23]
