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.

Most Rewatchable Scene

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)

Approx. transcript time · 00:40:32Read transcript

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.

What’s Aged the Best?

Lisa Bonet is the leading answer; the surveillance premise, ensemble cast, chase craft, and Washington setting also receive strong support.

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 00:49:59Read transcript

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.

What’s Aged the Worst?

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)

Approx. transcript time · 00:59:47Read transcript

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.

Casting What-Ifs

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)

Approx. transcript time · 01:02:37Read transcript

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.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

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)

Approx. transcript time · 01:04:02Read transcript

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.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

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)

Approx. transcript time · 01:04:51Read transcript

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.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Lisa Bonet wins for dominating her limited scenes; Barry Pepper and Tom Sizemore are acknowledged as alternatives.

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:05:57Read transcript

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.

Recasting Couch

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)

Approx. transcript time · 01:06:31Read transcript

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.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Uncredited writers, NSA noncooperation, the failed NEC handheld, and the date assigned to Reynolds are reported.

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:08:28Read transcript

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.

Apex Mountain

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)

Approx. transcript time · 01:09:39Read transcript

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.

Picking Nits

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)

Approx. transcript time · 01:10:44Read transcript

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.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

“You made a phone call” is selected; the “proper term for me is eggplant” exchange is the main alternative.

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:17:59Read transcript

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.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

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)

Approx. transcript time · 01:18:23Read transcript

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.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

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)

Approx. transcript time · 01:19:43Read transcript

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?

Who Won the Movie?

Gene Hackman wins unanimously for giving the film credibility and importance as soon as he appears.

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:21:36Read transcript

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

More from the conversation

The panel frames the film as a heightened paranoid thriller whose telecommunications surveillance concerns became more plausible after 9/11 and the Snowden era.

Approx. transcript time · 00:03:06Read transcript

Extended discussion argues that Gene Hackman elevated younger leading men and gave commercial thrillers unusual credibility; the film is treated as an unofficial, stylistically amplified cousin of The Conversation.

Approx. transcript time · 00:10:42Read transcript

Extended Will Smith career discussion contrasts his major box-office run and mainstream command with missed chances to work in riskier roles and with elite directors.

Approx. transcript time · 00:23:13Read transcript

The unusually deep supporting cast and Tony Scott chase editing receive sustained praise, along with Washington, D.C. as an action-thriller setting.

Approx. transcript time · 00:55:11Read transcript

Mentions across The Rewatchables

Double Feature

The Fugitive

The Rewatchables · aired February 6, 2024

The Package / Under Siege / Presumed Innocent / Enemy of the State

Approx. transcript time · 01:43:22Read transcript

Source 1