Roll-M: Enemy of the State

By Susan Sackett

Enemy of the State (starring Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet; written by David Marconi; directed by Tony Scott; rated R).

See Will. See Will run. And run. And then run some more. Enemy of the State is a great example of the "chase" film genre. Will Smith plays a Washington D. C. lawyer who finds trouble every which way – domestically, with the mob, and especially with some shadowy government figures. Everyone, it seems, wants Robert Clayton Dean’s (Smith’s) head on a platter, especially after a computer disc with evidence of a murder is inadvertently slipped to him by an old college pal (who promptly gets himself killed before explaining to Smith why people are after him). Later, Smith teams up with Gene Hackman, giving the movie even more tension as they evade the nasties (whose leader is played by that ubiquitous ’90s personification of evil, Jon Voight).

The biggest star of this film, however, is technology. Paranoia comes not only from Smith’s suddenly topsy-turvy world, but from the insinuation that there is nothing that the average citizen can keep from government forces, should they wish to learn it; you can run, but you can’t hide from the ever-present Big Brother in Space – a truly terrifying thought in itself. Add to that a goodly number of car chases, explosions and gunfire and you get the picture – or at least, you should go see this picture. It’s slick entertainment that will keep all but the most jaded Mensans hanging onto their seats for 128 minutes or so.

Three owls.