Pause for kids 15 & under
Late-'90s action movie has frequent profanity, violence.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Enemy of the State is a 1998 action movie with frequent profanity, action-style violence, and sexual content, including references to oral sex and infidelity. While the movie does show the machinations of a pre-9/11 government agency determined to a ruin the life and credibility of a man in possession of filmed evidence of spies killing a Congressman, the primary focus is on the nonstop action. There are also racial slurs: an African-American lawyer is referred to as an "eggplant," and Italian-American mobsters are called "guidos."
- Families can talk about the issues raised by balancing the right to privacy with the need for protection. How does this movie convey this message?
- How does the movie attempt to balance its message of showing the extent and scope of the surveillance state with the need to be an entertaining action movie?
- Do you think this movie would have been much different if it had come out after 9/11? Why or why not?