History Film / EnemyoftheState

* ActionSurvivor: Dean has to be this if he wants to beat his enemies. For most of the first two acts of the film he doesn't even knows how bad things are, and on the third he's pretty much the "bumbling newbie" member of the ActionDuo he's formed with Brill.

* AnAssKickingChristmas: The movie is set up during X-mas time.

* BadassLongcoat: Some Marine mooks wear longcoats. Not the best outfit to run faster, but they look cool.
** One mook wears a plastic raincoat identical to one worn in ''Film/TheConversation'' as an added allusion to that film.

* CallingTheCopsOnTheFBI: When Dean needs to enter Rachel's house unseen, he spots the SpiesInAVan parked outside. He then calls the city cops and spins a tale about conspicuous men in a van who might be doing drugs. Queue the spies when they hear the call on the police radio:
-->[[OhCrap "Oh, eat me. That’s us."]]

* TheCameo: Creator/JasonRobards as Phil Hammersley
** [[spoiler:Used to good effect (provided you haven't seen the trailer) when Creator/GabrielByrne briefly appears, pretending to be Brill.]]

* EnemyMine: Used by Dean to get rid of the NSA.

* ExtremeGraphicalRepresentation: The NSA tracking interface runs on it.

* InsistentTerminology: Paulie Pintero refers to Dean as a "shyster" lawyer. Dean politely corrects him, saying that "shyster" is for Jewish people, and as a person of African-American descent, he would be an "eggplant". This is, in fact, [[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=melanzane a term used by people of Italian descent]] [[ShownTheirWork to refer to people of color]].
** Also functions as a ShoutOut to [[Film/TrueRomance an earlier film]] also directed by Tony Scott that features a famous discussion of the slur, seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3yon2GyoiM here]].

* ObligatoryEarpieceTouch: The [=NSA=] agents pursuing videographer Zavitz all have earpieces, mainly to receive updates from spy satellite pics taken by MissionControl. One agent in particular expects the target to emerge on his street, and fingers his earpiece because he's on a busy, noisy midtown Baltimore thoroughfare. He gets the brotherly counsel from MissionControl: "Turn around, you idiot." Ah, teamwork.
* OnSecondThought: Carla is watching Congressman Albert talk about the need for increased surveillance on their enemies.

* Post911TerrorismMovie: And one that came out [[HarsherInHindsight three years before 9/11]]. A modern viewer watching the film without knowing its year of release would probably assume it was a political thriller made as a heavy-handed reaction to the events in question, and would likely be surprised to learn it was released in the late '90s.
** What's even stranger is that Reynolds' birthday is—get this—''9/11''. How's that for a significant date.

* SinisterSurveillance: The premise of the movie.

* TakeOffYourClothes: Brill asks this to Dean because they are bugs hidden inside them, even his shoes. Eventually he does... [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments to the enjoyment of an Asian lady.]]

* TropicalEpilogue: Brill's character in a video message.

* WhoWatchesTheWatchmen: One of the aesops of the film.

* {{Cameo}}: Creator/JasonRobards as Phil Hammersley

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Seth Green (the techie who leads the mobile surveillance team) just completely disappears halfway through the film, with no word of explanation. With what he must have known, surely he wasn't someone they'd let zip off somewhere. Did Green suddenly become unavailable halfway through filming?

* PlanBResolution: Or rather Plan "C", if you get technical. [[spoiler:Very shortly after Brill and Dean discover that they have the recording of Hammersley's assassination, the disk is destroyed when their car catches fire in a CarChase. Plan "B" becomes try to draw Reynolds into giving an EngineeredPublicConfession. It does not works because Reynolds and his crew detect the bug on Brill and catch Brill and Dean. Plan "C" is Dean pulling an IndyPloy and convincing Reynolds to come with him to Pintero's club, hoping that [[LetsYouAndHimFight the NSA leader and the Mafia leader will piss off each other enough]] to [[MutualKill kill each other]]. [[BatmanGambit It works]].]]

** [[Film/TrueRomance This isn't the first time that Tom Sizemore's been caught in a]] [[MexicanStandoff]]. [[Film/SavingPrivateRyan Nor the last]].

** [[Film/TrueRomance This isn't the first time that Tom Sizemore's been caught in a Mexican Standoff]]. [[Film/SavingPrivateRyan Nor the last]].

* LenoDevice: A Republican congressman appears on Larry King.

-->'''Congressman:''' We knew that we had to monitor our enemies. We've also come to realize that we need to monitor the people who are monitoring them.\\

-->'''Admiral Shaffer''': I want the entire history of this device, from birth to abortion, on my desk in two hours. I want the name of the tech who made it. I want to know who authorized its use, who checked it out from inventory. [''slams the table''] And for what purpose? [[SuddenlyShouting And most important, how in God's green earth it got into Congressman Albert's hotel room? Listen, people, everyone knows where this is going. If this was a legit op...if this was a legit op - and I can't imagine how it could be - then so be it. But if this was someone's unilateral wet dream, then that someone is going to prison]].

-->'''Dean''': [''pointing Brill's own shotgun at him'']] I'm all you've got! And you're all I've got!

-->'''Admiral Shaffer''': I want the entire history of this device, from birth to abortion, on my desk in two hours. I want the name of the tech who made it. I want to know who authorized its use, who checked it out from inventory. [''slams the table''] And for what purpose? [[SuddenlyShouting And most important, how in God's green earth it got into Congressman Albert's hotel room? Listen, people, everyone knows where this is going. If this was a legit op...if this was a legit op - and I can't imagine how it could be - then so be it. But if this was someone's unilateral wet dream, then that someone is going to prison.

* IronicEcho: "You're either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid."

* PostNineElevenTerrorismMovie: And one that came out [[HarsherInHindsight three years before 9/11]]. A modern viewer watching the film without knowing its year of release would probably assume it was a political thriller made as a heavy-handed reaction to the events in question, and would likely be surprised to learn it was released in the late '90s.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Yes, the US government ''does'' have all the capabilities shown in the movie (with one exception[[note]]The example under EnhanceButton[[/note]]). Well, they ''did''. In ''[[OhCrap 1988]]''.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Brill pretends to be like this to try and get Reynolds to make an EngineeredPublicConfession. [[spoiler: It doesn't work.]]
* PlotTriggeringDeath: Hammersley's, and later, Zavitz's death kickstarts the rest of the plot.
* PostNineElevenTerrorismMovie: And one that came out [[HarsherInHindsight three years ''before'' 9/11]]. A modern viewer watching the film without knowing its year of release would probably assume it was a political thriller made as a heavy-handed reaction to the events in question, and would likely be surprised to learn it was released in the late '90s.