this film take a little time to take off in the beginning , but it be necessary to stage the action that would come later . the movie open with a powerful politician , play by John Voight , kill another politician who refuse to support a bill that would allow spy into people 's life to protect the country . that killing be catch on tape and the tape fall into the hand of a researcher who then slip the tape into a shopping bag carry by Will Smith 's character . from there the action take off at a breathtaking pace . the part be flawlessly act - John Voight be the perfect embodiment of the stereotypical evil politician , Will Smith be the helpless victim , and Gene Hackman be the brilliant strategist who pull the entire film together . I will not say more as I would not want to spoil the suspense . the thing about this movie be it seem so terrifyingly real . they show throughout the film , the tracking system use -lrb- satellite and high end computer program -rrb- . I find myself think about this one for day after see it . it make I pause and wonder just how real the scenario could be and what it would mean to the general population .