despite the fact that we both like Gene Hackman and Will Smith , my wife and I put off see this movie for along time , think that it be probably go to be just another run-of-the mill Jerry Bruckheimer action flick , all of which get to be a bit overblown and `` samey '' after awhile -lrb- IMO Crimson Tide , and the spoof , ConAir , be he best film -rrb- ... but what would otherwise just have be another pretty good action\/suspense film , take on a eerie resonance in the post 9\/11 era -- the legislation that the Jon Voigt character be willing to kill to get pass have more than a faint aroma of `` the Patriot Act '' -- and I be surprised that more reviewer have not mention that . as far as the `` lack of substance '' that some reviewer mention , that be entirely subjective , and I do not agree with it . as far as reviewer who talk about this not be as good as 1974 's the conversation , get a clue that element of this movie be conscious homage to that earlier -lrb- and IMO , badly date , and overrate -rrb- movie -- one of the thing that be fun about Bruckheimer 's movie be that they be full of homage to earlier suspense\/action flick , esp . those that influence he . also , folk , get a clue to the fact that the Will Smith character 's `` dumbness '' and naivety , be part of the point of this movie : he ignorance of technology , and he over-reliance on other people for information , put he at the mercy of the `` heavy '' in this movie , and leave he wide open to the crisis in which he find himself embroil . as a aside , along the line of the eerie resonance of this movie in the wake of 9\/11 , it give my wife and I a bit of a chill down we spine when Gene Hackman 's character reveal by `` hacking '' into the NSA computer that the Jon Voigt character 's birthday be `` 9\/11 '' -- a eerie coincidence three year before 9\/11\/01 .