4. This looks bad The Mexican Standoff Enemy of the State (1998)
In the 90s Scott released a number of films that were more thriller than they were action and all the better for it. Enemy of the State saw Scott reteaming with Jerry Bruckheimer (who by this point was by himself) and one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood, Will Smith as well as Gene Hackman and a hugely strong, extensive supporting cast. Coupled with a script touched up by Aaron Sorkin and Tony Gilroy, it couldnt really fail, and it didnt, taking around $250 million worldwide. Similarly to what he would go on to do with Spy Game, Enemy of the State teamed an aging screen legend with a current box office A-lister. Smith plays Robert Dean, a regular guy whos framed for having information hes unaware he has. As his life falls apart the only person who can help is former NSA agent, Edward Lyle, played by Gene Hackman in a role very similar to that which he played in Francis Ford Coppolas 1974 classic, The Conversation. As ever, casting is half the work and Scott is clearly aware of this, the two leads are great with Hackman in particular even surpassing Smith in the cool-as-a-cucumber stakes. In a bid to clear their name, Dean and Lyle get in way above their head culminating in an exhilarating finale. As Brad Pitt did in Spy Game, Will Smith clearly learned a thing or two from his mentor, setting up a Mexican standoff in the back of a Chinese restaurant between Jon Voights bent NSA officer Thomas Reynolds and Tom Sizemores mafia boss, Paulie Pintero. Scott builds the action slowly, very slowly, though by the time Jake Busey storms into the room and everyone starts shooting, the acutely crafted tension is substantial. The sequence is unfussy, the underlying music is sinister and camera relatively still, but most importantly it shows that Tony Scotts movies aren't just loud and frenetic and that he could tone things down when he needed to.