Will Smith, Gene Hackman and the Tony Scott movie ‘Enemy of the State’

Looking for an action-packed movie with a sharp storyline with a star-studded cast led by director Tony Scott? The movie Enemy of the State (1998) offers much for you in these regards, plus is as much a Christmas movie as the movie Die Hard (1988) will ever be.

(From left, Will Smith as Robert Clayton Dean and Gene Hackman as Edward Lyle in the Tony Scott movie Enemy of the State).

Robert Clayton Dean and Edward Lyle, as portrayed by Will Smith and Gene Hackman respectively, are reluctantly pulled together in a bizarre string of events in Enemy of the State. The individual stories underpinning this pairing begins in advance of their awareness of one another when the ambition of Thomas Brian Reynolds, as portrayed by Jon Voight, sets something much bigger in motion.

(From left, Regina King as Carla Dean and Will Smith as Robert Clayton Dean in the Tony Scott movie Enemy of the State).

The familial life of Robert Clayton Dean is introduced with an introduction to Eric and Carla Dean, portrayed by Jascha Washington and Regina King, respectively. This occurs after learning that Robert is a lawyer in the crosshairs of Mob Boss Paulie Pintero, as portrayed by Tom Sizemore, and has been threatened.

(From left, Lisa Bonet as Rachel F. Banks and Will Smith as Robert Clayton Dean in the Tony Scott movie Enemy of the State).

When actions initiated by Thomas Bryan Reynolds get out of hand, Robert Clayton Dean is sucked into the suspense and action along with former college love interest Rachel F. Banks, as portrayed by Lisa Bonet. Neither were seeking a spotlight to their relationship, and the well written storyline ties together the backstory of these with an emotional punch.

(Prominently from left – Jon Voight as Thomas Brian Reynolds, Will Smith as Robert Clayton Dean and Tom Sizemore as Mob Boss Paulie Pintero in the Tony Scott movie Enemy of the State).

With keeping much of the David Marconi screenplay details held back for you to focus on watching the movie, let me be clear that the movie moves quickly and is an opportunity for clear action and suspenseful punch. The movie is consistent in storyline and built from a premise that, admittedly far-fetched in certain aspects, is based in motivations that are spot on and real life.

(From left, director Tony Scott and actor Will Smith on set of the Tony Scott movie Enemy of the State).

This reviewer for one enjoyed the experience of Enemy of the State. The initial premise is offered right off the bat. The action moves quickly and the pace of the movie is even, smart and kept me in my seat for the duration. For these reasons, I give Enemy of the State as directed by Tony Scott 4.00-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, March 13, 2021

Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, and John Goodman in ‘Argo’

Winning Academy Awards for best picture, best writing, and best achievement in film editing, the film Argo (2012) tells a story based on actual events depicted in a book written by a CIA operative and a 2007 Wired magazine article. The underlying events of the story traced back to a three year hostage crisis in Iran that began in 1979. Based on the fact that the end result was something I knew walking in, I found the movie better than it had to be.

(From left, Bryan Cranston as Jack O’Donnell and Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in Argo).

Argo stars director Ben Affleck as American intelligence officer Tony Mendez, Bryan Cranston as Jack O’Donnell, Alan Arkin as Lester Siegel, and John Goodman as John Chambers. Mendez, O’Donnell, Siegel and Chambers were key members of the American effort to get six members of the American embassy in Tehran in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution of 1978-1979. The film took pains to provide the historical context of the time, along with the series of bad ideas to get six Americans to safety.

(From left, John Goodman as John Chambers and Alan Arkin as Lester Siegel in Argo).

The six Americans holed up in the Canadian embassy in Tehran were Kathy Stafford as played by Kerry Bishé, Joe Stafford as played by Scoot McNairy, Mark Lijek as played by Christopher Denham, Bob Anders as played by Tate Donovan, Lee Schatz as played by Rory Cochrane, and Cora Lijek as played by Clea DuVall. Mark and Cora Lijek were a couple.

(From left, Kerry Bishé as Kathy Stafford, Scoot McNairy as Joe Stafford, Christopher Denham as Mark Lijek, Tate Donovan as Bob Anders, Rory Cochrane as Lee Schatz, and Clea DuVall as Cora Lijek in Argo).

Argo as a film was praised for its cinematic experience, as well as the acting in particular of Alan Arkin and John Goodman as film producers that helped bring the fiction of a film within Argo called the same thing. Historical complaints of note for the film included that the Canadian embassy’s part in the rescue was larger than portrayed, that British and New Zealand embassies had turned the Americans away,  and that the actual danger for the six American captives, Mendez, and Ken Taylor (as played by Victor Garber) may have been less than portrayed.

(From left, Victor Garber as Ken Taylor and Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in Argo).

The story of the “exfiltration” of six Americans from Tehran, Iran in the midst of a political revolution in the late 1970s during the presidential administration of Jimmy Carter made for good cinema. I appreciated the movie at the time of its release, and I enjoyed it again upon watching the film just recently. My recommendation is that you watch the film. I offer the movie Argo 4.5-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, June 13, 2020