☆★☆★☆★☆★
Roger Ebert gave the film three stars and said that, by and large, it works.
In the discussion (2)
- The review is introduced as a recovery after an earlier unfavorable Tommy Boy discussion.
- Ebert is reported as awarding three stars and concluding that the movie mostly works.
The escape from Brill’s getaway lair drew two final preferences; the Jason Lee pursuit drew another, with several additional sequences nominated.
In the discussion (6)
- The Jason Lee apartment break-in, rooftop pursuit, shop exits, bicycle escape, and collision are nominated as one extended Tony Scott chase showcase.
- Brill meeting Robert Clayton, identifying the trackers on him, and immediately controlling the situation is nominated.
- Clayton’s hotel escape across balconies, the closet fire, and the ambulance exit are nominated.
- Clayton’s first visit to Brill’s getaway lair, its destruction, their escape by car, and the train pursuit are nominated; two panelists ultimately prefer this sequence.
- Clayton crashing the mafia dinner is nominated for the confrontation and Tom Sizemore’s committed spaghetti eating.
- The opening park-bench exchange between Hammersley and Reynolds and Hammersley’s murder are added as a nomination.
Lisa Bonet is the leading answer; the surveillance premise, ensemble cast, chase craft, and Washington setting also receive strong support.
In the discussion (8)
- Lisa Bonet’s screen presence, beauty, and chemistry with Will Smith are the emphatic leading answer.
- Jason Lee’s late-1990s run and sarcastic screen persona are praised.
- Barry Pepper’s ability to look menacing while sprinting is singled out.
- The exceptional supporting cast and the foresight of casting then-young performers are nominated, with the cast ranked second by one participant.
- Brill’s practical surveillance-avoidance tricks are praised.
- Tony Scott’s disorienting chase editing is argued to put the viewer in Clayton’s position.
- Washington, D.C. and the surrounding region are praised as an action-thriller setting.
- The premise that government technology can invade ordinary life is offered as the most consequential answer.
Reynolds being diminished by domestic scenes becomes the chosen answer; the slow first act, impossible NSA imaging, and Scott Caan’s hair are also criticized.
In the discussion (4)
- The film takes too long to regain momentum after the opening murder.
- The NSA’s satellite and image-reconstruction capabilities are described as implausible, even though later real surveillance makes the premise less dismissible.
- Scott Caan’s increasingly exaggerated hairstyle is nominated.
- Reynolds’ domestic scenes with his much younger wife undercut his menace; the panel settles on this as the answer.
Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, and George Clooney were considered for Clayton; Sean Connery was the backup for Brill, prompting a role-swap discussion with The Rock.
In the discussion (5)
- Tom Cruise reportedly signed on before leaving for Eyes Wide Shut.
- Mel Gibson and George Clooney are reported as considered for Clayton.
- Will Smith is reported to have chosen the film partly to work with Gene Hackman and to have taken less money.
- Sean Connery is reported as the backup choice for Brill.
- The panel considers swapping Hackman and Connery between Enemy of the State and The Rock, but prefers the released casting.
Lillo Brancato wins because the panel knows him by his Bronx Tale/Sopranos roles rather than by name; Anna Gunn is rejected as too recognizable by name.
In the discussion (2)
- Anna Gunn is considered because many viewers may know her as Walter White’s wife, then rejected because her name and Emmy-level profile are established.
- Lillo Brancato is selected because the panel expects viewers to identify him through A Bronx Tale and The Sopranos rather than his name.
Tom Sizemore wins for the totality of his one-scene performance; Will Smith’s interrogation outburst and Barry Pepper’s sprinting face are competing examples.
In the discussion (3)
- Every moment of Tom Sizemore’s single scene is treated as the decisive overacting performance.
- Will Smith abruptly escalating the Philip Baker Hall interrogation is a candidate and is judged ineffective.
- Barry Pepper’s evil sprinting expression is acknowledged as another candidate.
Lisa Bonet wins for dominating her limited scenes; Barry Pepper and Tom Sizemore are acknowledged as alternatives.
In the discussion (2)
- Lisa Bonet is described as throwing 130 miles per hour whenever she appears and as deserving more scenes.
- Barry Pepper’s pursuit performance and Tom Sizemore’s extreme mafia-scene performance are runners-up.
The panel proposes Lisa Bonet in larger roles and notes that the unusually deep cast could be scrambled into many parts.
In the discussion (3)
- One proposal replaces Jason Robards with Lisa Bonet to give the opening and its consequences different weight.
- Another proposal makes Lisa Bonet the pursued lead, gives Will Smith her smaller role, and recasts the spouse.
- The panel argues that Jason Lee, Hackman, Voight, Jack Black, and others could trade several roles while remaining entertaining, but ultimately approves the released casting.
Uncredited writers, NSA noncooperation, the failed NEC handheld, and the date assigned to Reynolds are reported.
In the discussion (4)
- Aaron Sorkin, Henry Bean, and Tony Gilroy are reported as performing uncredited script rewrites.
- The NSA is reported as refusing to cooperate with the production.
- The handheld game device is identified as the failed NEC TurboExpress.
- Reynolds’ in-film birthday is reported as September 11, 1940, the date of an early remote computer demonstration over a phone line.
Lisa Bonet is accepted as the main Apex Mountain answer; the DMV on film is an additional candidate, while Jake Busey is rejected in favor of Starship Troopers.
In the discussion (4)
- Lisa Bonet’s post-Cosby Show visibility is proposed, with a joke that the birth of Zoë Kravitz is her actual apex.
- Jake Busey is proposed and rejected because Starship Troopers is judged his apex.
- The panel explicitly agrees to treat the category as Lisa Bonet’s Apex Mountain.
- The Washington–Baltimore–Virginia film setting is added as another Apex Mountain candidate, short of All the President’s Men.
The panel challenges the murder premise, character decisions, impossible movement and imaging, repeated fires, pet-driven plotting, and the rapid marital reconciliation.
In the discussion (8)
- Reynolds’ decision to attend and order the public murder of a sitting congressman merely to advance surveillance legislation and his career is judged absurd.
- The coincidence of a wildlife camera capturing the murder, followed by Jason Lee reviewing the footage, is criticized as flimsy.
- Clayton behaves too aggressively in the first mafia meeting and appears implausibly bad at labor lawyering.
- Barry Pepper nearly matching a bicycle on foot and Clayton outrunning a Camaro are criticized as impossible human speed.
- Clayton intentionally setting himself on fire in a closet and escaping without major burns is challenged.
- The lingerie-store security footage being rotated and enhanced in three dimensions is called the most implausible technology in the film.
- The cat and dog are judged to consume too much plot attention.
- Carla’s quick reconciliation with Clayton, despite his earlier affair and continued lies, is judged unconvincing.
“You made a phone call” is selected; the “proper term for me is eggplant” exchange is the main alternative.
In the discussion (2)
- Brill’s explanation that he destroyed the building because Clayton made a phone call is selected as the best line.
- Clayton correcting the mafia’s ethnic insult to “eggplant,” with a later callback, is praised as the other memorable line.
The panel supports a ten-episode series that expands the Hammersley/Reynolds conflict, Jason Lee, the mafia thread, Brill’s lair, and the NSA manhunt.
In the discussion (2)
- A ten-episode adaptation is endorsed as a way to deepen the large ensemble and institutional conflict.
- The man-on-the-run premise is compared to The Fugitive and the frantic storytelling to 24.
The panel asks what Carla’s later conspiracy-board life would look like and what happened to Tom Sizemore between Heat and this film.
In the discussion (2)
- Would Carla become an early online conspiracy participant by 2020?
- What explains the striking change in Tom Sizemore between Heat and Enemy of the State?
Gene Hackman wins unanimously for giving the film credibility and importance as soon as he appears.
In the discussion (3)
- Hackman is selected over a late challenge from Lisa Bonet.
- A second vote emphasizes that the film becomes substantially better once Hackman appears.
- A third vote agrees on Hackman and leads into discussion of his late-career films and retirement.
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Gene Hackman
- Speaker not identified
- Gene Hackman
- Speaker not identified
- Gene Hackman
Roger Ebert's review
Most Rewatchable Scene
What’s Aged the Best?
What’s Aged the Worst?
The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award
The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award
The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance
Apex Mountain
The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie
Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake
Who Won the Movie?