![]() After unwittingly being embroiled in a high-stakes murder of a Congressman, the NSA destroys his life in a bid to discredit the murder evidence he holds. In Tony Scott’s spy action-thriller Enemy of the State, Smith portrays Robert Clayton Dean-a married father and labor lawyer. He knows that crying on the floor of a public bathroom while holding your adolescent son will cue the waterworks from his audience.Įnemy of the State (Buena Vista Pictures)īy 1998, Smith had played young hotshots who matured over the course of the narrative, like Hiller ( Independence Day), Jay ( Men in Black), and Lowery ( Bad Boys). Their collaboration finds a balance between overly earnest and improbable, to being genuinely affecting. With every poor financial decision Gardner makes, Muccino and Smith never pass judgment as the film sheds any ounce of cynicism lurking at its core. When the film lays on the schmaltz a little thick, it’s Smith’s portrayal of Gardner that elevates the material into his most relatable role to date. In 2006 the family drama packed a real wallop in the emotional baggage department with Smith operating outside of his normal wheelhouse by playing an everyman named Chris Gardner, who has a serious financial situation on his hands. Now that provides a whole different context reading into his celebrity status, versus the simplicity of a father scrounging to pay his rent. It’s easy to see what drew Smith to this material as a father himself he will do anything to make sure his family name is advanced. As he was maturing as a performer and into the realm of prestige filmmaking, Happyness earned Smith his second Oscar nomination and provided the opportunity to collaborate with his then-eight-year-old son Jaden. The Pursuit of Happyness marked Smith’s first collaboration with Italian director Gabrielle Muccino, who he teamed up with again in 2008 on the strangely misguided Seven Pounds. ![]() The Pursuit of Happyness (Columbia Pictures) The movie proved Smith’s ability to carry a soon-to-be franchise-and served as the first sketch of the “Big Willie” template. Smith often thrives when he has a foil, and Lawrence bounces off the young star easily as the two trade barbs, even while supporting one another. Lowery dodges bullets, fiery explosions, and ex-lovers while he and his partner Marcus Burnett ( Martin Lawrence) solve a heist, take down a drug kingpin, and protect a witness. Still green, components of his Fresh Prince character pervades Bad Boys’ Mike Lowery: He’s a smooth talking lady’s man.įurthermore, he’s far more derogatory than Smith’s cultivated wholesome image. Bay’s debut film marked Smith’s fourth and his first action flick. To his advantage came Michael Bay’s Bad Boys, where the sky is never blue, it’s orange. He’d just starred in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993) as a con artist, but he needed a persona that took advantage of his natural qualities. This was a welcome return to form for Smith, who manages to thrive as an unlikeable character.Īt the tail end of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Smith began to seriously contemplate what his post-television career would look like. Despite the film’s mismanaged twists and turns, the sheer power of watching Smith and Robbie’s emotional tango makes it far too enticing to look away. As Nicky, a conman who has a penchant for gambling indulgences, he straddles the line between magnetic romantic lead and a complete degenerate. At this point, it had been eight years since his last bonafide hit.īy taking a chance with this duplicitous thriller, Smith was reigniting his sex appeal and his ability to engage with an adult audience. He tried young adult sci-fi and came back for a third Men in Black sequel after his role in prestige pictures started to fade. Released in 2015, Smith was coming off a string of failures that were getting pretty embarrassing from a critical perspective. And while the level of intrigue between the actor and his costar Margot Robbie is far more memorable than the film itself, this outing saw Big Will at a bit of a crossroads. On the surface, Focus is a minor entry in Smith’s filmography.
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