When a piece of incriminating evidence is slipped into his bag, a man finds his life being turned upside down and inside out, as tech experts try to track him. As an eye in the sky watches his every move and he must find out who wants him and why so he can get his life back.

Having watched ENEMY OF THE STATE many years ago, I had to re-watch it just to recall why I hadn’t thought much about it. While it is a very slick and well made film, it does carry some very specific signature baggage that films of this kind have. The powerful villain, the quirky side characters, even yet another ho-hum Mexican stand-off. (Thank goodness Director Scott eventually stopped using those!) Such formulaic devices started to become common place when this film came out and is probably what contributed to its mediocre reviews. Films like ENEMY OF THE STATE don’t break the mold; they merely duplicate it and try to throw in a few new gimmicks to cover it up. The film is essentially saved from standard fare by two very specific elements. The first is the direction by Tony Scott, whose early and gorgeous visual work here saves the film from a slow death. This is prior to the MAN ON FIRE/DOMINO freak out visuals that Scott has now immersed himself in (not a good thing!) and it’s really great looking work.

The second is Will Smi…just kidding! (You thought I was serious didn’t you?!) No, the second is the fine work by Gene Hackman, who here plays a role reminiscent of the one Dennis Hopper played in Scott’s previous TRUE ROMANCE, but much more edgy and grumpy. His mere presence, let alone the quietly intense performance he gives, saves the film from being laughable. All the other actors, and there are some up and coming faces (Jamie Kennedy, Scott Caan, Jack Black to name a few), are relegated to cardboard cutouts, right down to villain Jon Voight and fat mobster Tom Sizemore. With a cast this interesting and diverse, Scott should have gotten so much more. Will Smith’s casting is the only other notably good choice, as he does what he does best, playing a reactionary character that just, well…reacts! Look, it’s not brain surgery, ENEMY OF THE STATE is great looking, mindless, escapist fun with a little Hackman thrown in for credibility - no more, no less.

Video: Presented in a crisp Widescreen (2:35:1), making full use of Scott’s signature visuals.

Audio: With Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and its clean and totally crisp, a film that was made for this format.

While the features here are adequate, they are not nearly great enough to call this one a Special Edition; hell we don’t even get a Tony Scott commentary Track!

Deleted Scenes: This is just available individually, not as a Play All, which is fine, as there are only two! My 5-year-old could navigate through his one!

• Jones Gets Bitten (0:43): A scene of one of the NSA guys getting bitten on the hand by a dog. It’s easy to see why this was cut, it’s slow and it’s not funny. (You want funny, have the dog aim lower!)

• Confrontation At The Limousine Service (2:07): A longer version of the scene where Smith goes to talk to the Sizemore character, who won’t see him. This is less an extra then a good learning lesson in editing. The scene, as shown in the film, is fast moving and top notch. The scene played out here however, is long and highly unbelievable. Take notes.

The Making Of Enemy Of The State (29:15): This is less a making of, then a promo video with clips of film footage and interviews that they probably showed at a venue like Show west or the like. Definitely gets more interesting when a couple of real tech guys start to dish the dirt. By the way, since this one has the same style and editing as the film, did Scott put together this doc himself? And what’s even more interesting is hearing Scott and Producer Jerry Bruckheimer talk about their tight relationship, especially since they haven’t worked together in a while. (Plus the explosion from multiple angles is very cool!)

All Access: The Showdown (13:20): Since I didn’t really like this sequence, I thought I would hate this one. Quite the opposite, it’s a very thorough and fascinating look behind the scenes, with Tony Scott’s directing process front and center. A rare look.

There is also a Theatrical Trailer. (What, no other trailers? What happened to the good old days of Sneak Peeks?!)

While this entertaining fluff piece may look and sound great with this new Special Edition, the extras don’t exactly meet the same requirements and leave a bad taste in your mouth. With no real meat, like commentary tracks or more in-depth featurettes, it leaves this version looking more and more like just another double dip. (And do you really want to put more money into the pocket of Jerry Bruckheimer?) As for the film itself, what you see is what you get. It’s a film that will keep you entertained for two hours, but much like the personal information of Will Smith’s character in ENEMY OF THE STATE, it’s easily erased from memory.