THROWBACK SERIES - ENEMY OF THE STATE REVIEW!!!

Initial release date: November 20, 1998

Studios: Touchstone Pictures/Jerry Bruckheimer Films/Scott Free Productions

Plot: Corrupt NSA official Thomas Reynolds has a congressman assassinated to assure the passage of expansive new surveillance legislation. When a tape of the murder ends up in the hands of Robert Clayton Dean, a labor lawyer and dedicated family man, he is framed for murder. With the help of ex-intelligence agent Edward "Brill" Lyle, Dean attempts to throw Reynolds off his trail and prove his innocence.

Cast

Will Smith - Robert Clayton Dean

Gene Hackman - Edward Lyle

Jon Voight - Thomas Reynolds

Lisa Bonet - Rachel F. Banks

Regina King - Carla Dean

Stuart Wilson - Congressman Sam Albert

Laura Cayouette - Christa Hawkins

Loren Dean - Hicks

Barry Pepper - David Pratt

Ian Hart - Bingham

Jake Busey - Krug

Scott Caan - Jones

Jason Lee - Daniel Zavitz

Jack Black - Fiedler

Writer: David Marconi (Live Free or Die Hard)

Director: Tony Scott (Unstoppable; The Taking of Pelham 123; Deja Vu)

Rated R for language and violence (132 minutes)

Enemy of the State is a 1998 conspiracy theory thriller that delivers a lot of non-stop action and very intense thrills.

The action sequences are really exhilarating and are really well shot. Some of the scenes can give you a paranoia feeling with the surveillance scenes that are featured in the movie.

Throughout the thriller, there are also quite a few unpredictable moments and all the action/thrills will leave you on the edge of your seat right until the end. Gene Hackman also gives another great performance as a former NSA analyst who has been off the grid for decades.

Enemy of the State can be found on various rental platforms, such as Google Play, YouTube, Vudu, Redbox, Apple TV and Amazon Prime.

Here are some fun tidbits about this 1998 thriller!

• The NSA refused to cooperate with the production. Aerial footage of their headquarters in Fort Meade, MD had to be shot from public air space.

• Gene Hackman turned down the movie several times, but was ultimately convinced to sign on after a phone call by late director Tony Scott. Will Smith signed on a relative post-Independence Day bargain price because he wanted to work with Hackman.

• Technical advisor Larry Cox was a former National Security Agency official.

• Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer began developing the story for this movie in 1991.

• Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise were considered for Will Smith's role, Robert Clayton Dean.

• Enemy of the State grossed $111.5 million in the US and $139.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $250.8 million, against a production budget of $90 million.

• In October 2016, ABC announced it had green-lit a TV series sequel to the movie. However, nothing ever came to fruition.