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By Cutre
Everybody say “money”! Everybody say “not guilty”!, July 31, 2002
This review is from: Enemy of the State
Robert Clayton Dean is a D.C. lawyer who’s about to get some kind of twisted Christmas present from an old friend of college: a tape, which reveals a political assassination. Dean doesn’t know he has it, but the people involved in the murder do know. And they are prepared for anything in order to get back that type, even if that means destroying Dean’s life. But Dean isn’t willing to let that happen, even if he doesn’t know why they want to destroy them.

What we got here is an intelligent film directed by Tony Scott and for my taste, the best of his career. But that’s just my opinion. I was a little skeptical at first, because I didn’t think Will Smith could deliver a dramatic performance, but he surprised me, and I am sure I wasn’t the only one. Of course, Gene Hackman, Jason Lee, Jon Voight, Barry Pepper, Jack Black, Seth Green, Jamie Kennedy, Scott Caan, Tom Sizemore and Gabriel Byrne have their good things, too. It’s an awesome cast in my opinion and they all do their job better than one would expect. I can only complaint about the little screen time Gabriel Byrne has, but it’s really ok. And Tom Sizemore, wow, he’s great in this one as an italian mobster and who, in my opinion, has the greatest line in the film.

Note that I only give this film 4 stars, but that’s because of the DVD edition. It is so lame when it could have been so great. The film gets 5 stars, not the DVD.

Maybe the technology shown in the movie is a little overwhelming and for those who are not into the state of the art electronic devices, this film may seem too far-fetched. The music is superb and the main theme is really a beautiful music piece that really grabs the essence of this movie, which is, in my opinion, the end of privacy. How your actions, even in the privacy of your bedroom, your computer, phone calls, e-mail… everything, can be tapped just to ensure national security. Of course, it’s a step beyond, but definitely, very plausible.

What’s more important to you? Privacy or safety? And if it is indeed safety, how do we know that the people monitoring us aren’t using that power for selfish purposes, like depicted in this film. Are we willing to give up our privacy just to feel safe? And how safe would you feel knowing that someone is watching you or listening to every word that comes out of your mouth? “Only privacy that’s left is inside your head and maybe that’s enough” one of the characters says. And after September 11, after many of us lost that sense of security, I am quite sure that this would be an interesting debate. To paraphrase another of the characters, “when buildings start blowing up, people priorities tend to change”. He’s got a point there. But who’s there to tell which person is trustworthy enough for me to trust him my privacy, my life?

As Larry King says in the last line of the film: “how do we draw the line between protection of National Security, obviously the government’s need to obtain intelligence data, and the protection of civil liberties, particularly the sanctity of my home? You’ve got no right to come into my home”.

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