“I love Gene Hackman.” Kristl said, “He is a good actor and he plays this grumpy cynical reluctant character so well. Maybe a bit too well. And Will Smith does equally well as the gawking advocate who sees his live fall apart because he happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. His ‘what-the-hell! or why-does-this-happen-to-me? expressions are priceless.”
“The ending is hilarious. The way it connects to the start of the movie, that was a nifty trick.I mean that mob involvement at the start seems more like an irrelevant side story to give Will Smith a background and it doesn’t surface back until the end, but then it suddenly shifts back into the story.. ” Henry nodded,”It is also nice how the plot shifts gear gradually, from a spying thriller, to a chase part and then to a ‘fightback’ part, turning the tables on the bad guys.The ending is nice because it is Will Smith who thinks of it. He is grown from a hapless victim into a desperate fighter.”
“This movie shows the skill of Tony Scott in keeping you from losing your suspense of disbelief by grabbing your attention and never letting go.. The whole plot is in itself filled with loopholes, impossibilities and inconsistencies, but because the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat, you never get to think: ‘wait a minute..how…” Kristl said.
Kristl continued. “But there are odd turns. For instance, at first they follow Will Smith via spying devices, but then somewhere along the line they start to following him visibly and shooting at him. Shooting him seems to me an impractical way of getting hold what Will has. And if they wanted to capture him, they could have done it by having the police arrest him. And that the whole thing was staged as a training exercise for the benefit of the other agents might work at first, but those agents must have smelled a rat when people started shooting and dying.”
“I found it a pity that the key scenes are shoddy work. The murder of the congressman in a park in broad daylight is simply impossible to belief. The changes of being spotted are just too high, which of course happens.. And that key scene with the cab where Will Smith gets connected to Gene Hackman is another example of shoddy work. Who was that guy who picked him up? Who did he work for? Gene Hackman? Why did he pull a gun on Will Smith? How come Will just happens to see Gene passing by and recognize him? And why did the people pursue this cab. ” Kristl added, “I never quite understand car chases in thrillers.. The moment someone is aware of you following him and tries to shake you off, the reason to follow that person is gone,. And, in hindsight, that Will is told by a mobster that the FBI is spying on them is too convenient. “
“The shootouts and chases are fun though. And that scene were Gene blows up his house. Hahah. Those agents see that count down and go like.. ^$&$ the place is going to blow.” Henry laughed, “Yet, Tony didn’t quite handle the last fight as well as he could have.. A Tarantino or Sam Peckinpah would have done it a lot better, using slow motion, different angles and tricks like that. “
“You can say Tony is not such an artful director as his brother, but he is skilled at dishing up an action-packed movie and Enemy of the State is a movie you ought to watch because of the action packed thrill. It does not make much sense when you start to think about it and it certainly has no depth or message that you can take home with you.” Kristl said, “A sit-back-and-enjoy-the-ride-while-it-lasts movie?”
“No.. a fire-and-forget movie.” Henry said.
“Hah.”
