The Good

Overall this movie is pretty darn entertaining.

The Bad

Shouldn't an Extended Version contain a lot more stuff?

Enemy of the State tells the tale of Robert Clayton Dean (Will Smith). He is man wanted by everyone when he becomes privy to some key evidence in a politically motivated crime. After being on the run, having his life torn apart, Dean realizes that his only chance to clear his name (and save his life) is to team up with Edward Lyle (Gene Hackman), who is a master surveillance expert. Directed by Tony Scott, Enemy of the State is one of those movies that plays like a classic Hollywood thriller, yet is revved up enough by hip execution, and Will Smith's own swagger and cool.

Okay, as an extended edition DVD, Enemy of the State plays longer than it originally did. However, from a bonus features perspective, his disc seems to be sorely lacking in content.

Features

The Making of Enemy of the State Featurette

This is an older featurette that takes a look at this film's production. We see some on set footage, the actors talk about their roles, Tony Scott discusses the story, and we seem to get a decent enough look at the gadgets employed in this world. In addition to that, Gene Hackman discusses working with Will Smith, Will Smith discusses working with Hackman, and they both talk about the various nature of their roles.

Deleted Scenes

All Access: "The Showdown"

Featured here is some action footage from the film but more to the point, it is actually a breakdown of the action happening in this movie. For anyone that just thinks these guys show up and put it together, they will be very enlightened to realize that it doesn't work like that at all. In fact, there is a great deal of preparation that goes into pulling off a fight scene in any movie, and thankfully the biggest concern is for the actor's safety.

Video

Widescreen: 2.35:1 - Aspect Ratio. I thought this movie looked great when I originally saw it on VHS. On this DVD, this movie plays longer and of course it looks phenomenal. Tony Scott is very much into big, broad shots, which seem to have an almost crunching impact on the screen. There is a lot of bluish/gray tones employed in this movie and that really helps give it the "on the run from the government" feel.

Audio

English - Dolby Digital 5.1. The audio on this DVD was top notch. I would normally suggest test driving a home theater, surround sound system with a disc like this, but I honestly think that you might be better served utilizing this movie in the next generation format. As I have mentioned, this film has really held up over time and the fact that it is available in Blu-ray should only enhance what is already a very strong viewing experience.

Package

Sadly, there isn't anything too special about this packaging. Will Smith and Gene Hackman are both featured in what seems like an almost black and white image. The back portion of this cover gives us some shots from the DVD, a description of what this movie is about, a Special Features listing, a cast list, and system specs. I would have thought that an Extended Edition would have offered up more bells and whistles, but I guess that isn't the case.

Final Word

There is something about Enemy of the State that, even though it's an older movie, has really worn well over time. The film plays surprisingly current and even though it is close to being 10 years old, it doesn't seem as dated as some content from the 1990s. I remember wondering how Gene Hackman felt acting with Will Smith. Even though he had long shed the Fresh Prince image as a rapper, he had been on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, but he really had never shown himself to be the kind of performer he would ultimately end up becoming. This film really showed that audiences would accept him in the leading man role, and one can see here that Smith is doing everything he can to make the most of the chance he's been given.

Enemy of the State was released November 20, 1998.