Line #40 Film/EnemyoftheState


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6	[[quoteright:295:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Enemy_of_the_State.jpg]]
7
8	''Enemy of the State'' is a 1998 [[ConspiracyThriller spy-thriller]] film directed by Creator/TonyScott, written by David Marconi, and produced by Creator/JerryBruckheimer. The film stars Creator/WillSmith, Creator/GeneHackman, Creator/JonVoight, Creator/LisaBonet, Creator/TomSizemore, and Creator/ReginaKing.
9
10	A group of rogue operatives from the [[UsefulNotes/{{NSA}} National Security Agency]] kill a U.S. Senator who's set to block a bill to expand the government's authority for covert surveillance, but are caught in the act by a wildlife researcher's hidden camera. The NSA finds out about the researcher's tape, and the expanding cloud of coverups, murder and surveillance sucks in Robert Clayton Dean (Smith), a labor lawyer who unwittingly has the tape passed on to him. The NSA agents proceed to bug Dean's house and belongings, ruin his marriage, and destroy his life to get him to surrender the tape. Soon, the only friend he has is the retired NSA agent "Brill" (Hackman), who's learned how paranoid you have to be in this kind of world...
11	-------
12	!!''Enemy of the State'' contains examples of:
13
14	* NinetiesHair: The former Marines brought in to act as muscle for Reynolds' team all have [=90s=] boyband cuts. Lampshaded by Fiedler.
15	-->'''Selby:''' Jones, Krug, what are you guys from? Communications?
16	-->'''Jones:''' No, we're Ops.
17	-->'''Fiedler:''' You can tell by their haircuts.
18	* 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 the "bumbling newbie" member of the ActionDuo he's formed with Brill.
19	* ActorAllusion:
20	** A photo of Creator/GeneHackman's character in ''Film/TheConversation'' is used for Brill's file. Critics such as Creator/KimNewman advanced the theory that the two characters are one and the same.
21	** [[Film/TrueRomance This isn't the first time that Tom Sizemore's been caught in a]] MexicanStandoff. [[Film/SavingPrivateRyan Nor the last]].
22	* AnAssKickingChristmas: Robert Dean's struggle against the NSA begins when he encounters a friend while purchasing a Christmas gift for his wife.
23	* AstronomicZoom; The movie shows zoom-outs to the surveillance satellites in orbit.
24	* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: During a car chase, Brill (driving) hands a pump-action shotgun to Dean (in the passenger's seat). Dean then leans over and points the shotgun out ''Brill's window'' to fire at the car next to them, putting the barrel of the gun just inches from Brill's face. To be fair, Dean hasn't had a lot of experience with firearms, but still ...
25	* BadassLongcoat:
26	** Some Marine mooks wear longcoats. Not the best outfit to run faster, but they look cool.
27	** One mook wears a plastic raincoat identical to one worn in ''Film/TheConversation'' as an added allusion to that film.
28	* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: The film opens with Dean negotiating with mobster Pintero over a compromising videotape that Dean had obtained, and which he gives Pintero in exchange for leaving Dean's clients alone. Later, Dean unknowingly obtains a recording that shows the assassination of a Congressman, which places him in the NSA's crosshairs. When he and Brill are captured by NSA bigwig Reynolds, he tells Reynolds that he will take them to the tape, leading them to Pintero instead. Dean remains vague enough about what he means by "the tape" when introducing them that Pintero assumes Reynolds is the man who made the mob tape coming to blackmail him, while Reynolds thinks that Dean gave the assassination tape to The Mafia, leading to a violent shootout where both Mafia and NSA forces wipe each other out.
29	* BatmanGambit: [[spoiler:Dean comes up with one, which results in a BlastOut.]]
30	* BerserkButton: [[spoiler:Rachel's death for Brill]].
31	* BigBad: NSA official Thomas Brian Reynolds orders the murder of Congressman Phil Hammersley to stop him from blocking a bill that will allow the NSA to legally spy on citizens, and tails Robert Clayton Dean to get back a tape from him with evidence of his crime.
32	* BigBrotherIsWatching: Basically the whole premise of the movie.
33	* BillionaireWristband: Wealthy labour lawyer Robert Clayton Dean is shown wearing an Omega wristwatch, a gift from his wife. This becomes a plot point when the villains replace it with a replica that contains a tracking device, so they can follow Dean's movements.
34	* BlackHelicopter: Reynolds' outfit uses these.
35	* BlastOut: [[spoiler:Dean manages to basically have the NSA agents who've already captured him and the Mafia goons from the start of the film kill each other]].
36	* CallingTheCopsOnTheFBI:
37	** 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:
38	--->[[OhCrap "Oh, eat me. That’s us."]]
39	** Later in the film, [[spoiler: Dean more or less calls the FBI on the NSA, via leading the latter into a Mafia-owned restaurant the Feds happen to be surveilling.]]
40	* 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.]]
41	* CelebCrush: Robert Dean assures his wife she's the only woman for him - unless Music/JanetJackson came calling, in which case he'd drop her in a second.
42	* ChekhovsArmy: [[spoiler:The Pintero Crime Family, and the FBI guys watching them.]]
43	* ChekhovsBoomerang: The spying devices initially used on Dean are turned around against a congressman and the NSA director, then are once more used against Dean in the finale, but this time as a more comedic event.
44	* ChekhovsGun: The lingerie Dean bought for his wife. When it comes up later in the film it is initially played as a BrickJoke, but it hints Dean to the fact that it was at the lingerie store where [[spoiler:Zavitz dropped the incriminating footage in Dean's shopping bag, realizing he indeed had it all along and his son later took it.]]
45	* ConspiracyThriller: With all the digital technology that fuels conspiracies since 1990.
46	* DeadMansTriggerFinger: The BlastOut at the climax begins when, [[spoiler:after Pintero, Reynolds and their respective goons [[MexicanStandoff pull guns on each other]], Krug comes out of cover to order Pintero's men to stand down with his SMG, gets blown away from behind by a cook with a double-barreled shotgun, and starts blasting in his death throes.]]
47	* DeadpanSnarker: Reynolds has his moments. One of his underlings mentions in passing that Dean's wife is attached to the ACLU, and he quips:
48	-->'''Reynolds:''' Well I suppose [Zavitz] could have given [the tape] directly to [[Film/AllThePresidentsMen Bob Woodward]].
49	* DefectorFromDecadence: Brill. He used to be an NSA surveillance man, and then decided to quit when his friend was killed in action.
50	* DisappearedDad:
51	** Dean mentions how hard it was to grow up without a father and doesn't want to put his family through that.
52	** After his last mission went wrong, Brill presumably became to his family, though it's left unclear if he has any children.
53	** [[spoiler:On the above mentioned mission, Rachel's father, Brill's partner, died when she was a child.]]
54	** [[spoiler:Both Reynolds and Pintero become this to their children after their fight ends in both of their deaths.]]
55	* DistinctionWithoutADifference: {{Inverted}} when Dean is called before his bosses at the law firm over allegations against him:
56	-->'''Silverberg:''' We were told to look back on your files as far as the electrician strike. We believe that you helped a man named Sam Velotti form a company called Zurich.
57	-->'''Blake:''' We also found out about your connection with the Peitzo family.
58	-->'''Dean:''' Well, that's true.
59	-->'''Silverberg:''' You're admitting to it?
60	-->'''Dean:''' Sure. Everything except forming a company called Zurich, or knowing anybody who is named Sam Velotti, or having any connection, whatsoever, to the Peitzo family.
61	* DrillTheLock: The NSA attempts this when breaking into Daniel Zavitz's flat before simply kicking the door down.
62	* EnemyMine: Robert Clayton pulls an on-the-fly BatmanGambit which ties up two troublesome loose ends by getting them to deal with each other. Through some fast talking and well chosen ambiguous language, he [[spoiler: sets up a MexicanStandOff between a rogue NSA team that has taken him hostage and a gang of trigger happy goodfellas who are looking for a fight.]] It does not end well for any of them.
63	* EngineeredPublicConfession: [[spoiler:Brill and Dean try to catch Reynolds admitting to the murders. It doesn't work--Reynolds spends too much time giving a spiel about how the world is going to the dogs and [[KnightTemplar espionage has become more important than ever]] and manages to buy time for his goons to track the radio frequency of the heroes' HiddenWire and catch them both.]]
64	* EnhanceButton: It can even let them look at things ''blocked'' by the camera's view, though it gets a HandWave by saying that they are merely looking at extrapolations based on surrounding elements such as shadows, and assumptions, such as them presuming that a shadow might be cast by an object they suspect is blocked from view. Oddly, this technology is not compatible with SpySatellites.
65	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:
66	** Reynolds is usually shown in the accompany of his wife, who he cares for.
67	** Pintero is a Mob boss, but near the climax, it's shown he has a wife and two sons he adores.
68	* EvilIsPetty: The NSA goons steal Dean's blender while they're messing up his house, just because it's a nice blender.
69	* EvilVsEvil: [[spoiler: Dean at the end menages to put Reynolds and his corrupt team against Pintero and his gangsters. Both sides end up dead killing each other.]]
70	* ExactWords: The BatmanGambit that enables the climactic BlastOut happens because [[spoiler:Pintero has ''a'' tape (Brill's surveillance that gave Dean the leverage to negotiate on behalf of the people Pintero was strong-arming at the beginning) and Reynolds wants ''a'' tape (the recording that shows the assassination of the Congressman, which has been destroyed) and Dean remains vague enough when introducing them that Pintero assumes Reynolds is the man who made the tape coming to blackmail him and Reynolds thinks that Dean gave the tape to TheMafia, pissing them both off.]]
71	* ExtremeGraphicalRepresentation: Every computer screen seen in the movie has blatantly unnecessary bits of video, animated images, and scrolling text visible.
72	* {{Fanservice}}: The lingerie models, [[spoiler:Dean's wife in the lingerie, and Dean himself.]] All of those examples are justified by the plot.
73	* FakingAndEntering:
74	** Dean pretends to be a deliveryman to enter a hotel room and delay his pursuit.
75	** Reynolds' goons thrash Dean's house, both because they're looking for the hidden file (they don't find it because Dean's kid took the videogame that it was hidden inside) and so they can place bugs in both the house and Dean's clothes without anyone questioning any inconsistencies. They also steal his blender, just because.
76	* FindingTheBug: There are several instances of this, not only are the bugs shown to be planted, then shown how they are being exploited and ultimately shown to be [[PlayedStraight searched for]] and neutralized and [[InvertedTrope counter-exploited]].
77	* FromTheMouthsOfBabes: After the events of the movie, and when Robert and Carla are watching the news with their young son Eric:
78	-->'''Carla:''' (''watching Congressman Albert admit they need to monitor the people monitoring their enemies'') Well, who's gonna monitor the monitors of the monitors?
79	-->'''Dean:''' I wouldn't mind doing a little monitoring myself.
80	-->'''Carla:''' (''looks at him'') Yes, and you've got lots and lots of monitoring to do.
81	-->'''Eric:''' Are you guys talking about sex?
82	-->'''Robert''': (''as he and Carla look on'') Boy!
83	* FullyClothedNudity: A man strips down to his socks, boxer shorts, and tanktop-style undershirt, and considers this nude enough after finding numerous other tracking devices in his other clothing.
84	* GovernmentConspiracy: More specifically, of the UsefulNotes/{{NSA}}.
85	* GrumpyOldMan: Brill, though [[ProperlyParanoid it's entirely justified]].
86	* HastilyHiddenMacGuffin: Much of the suspense hinges around a wildlife researcher's video recorder that captured [=NSA=] Chief Reynolds killing a congressman who opposed Reynolds' Stalinist domestic surveillance program. The wildlife researcher sees what's been recorded, and runs for his life from pursuing agents. He's able to dump the video into the shopping bag of labor lawyer Robert Dean before being killed. Later, the magic EnhanceButton is able to determine that Dean now holds the incriminating video.
87	* HeKnowsTooMuch: {{Subverted}}. See RevealingCoverup.
88	* HeroStoleMyBike: Daniel's attempt at escape.
89	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Dean and Brill use stolen NSA spying equipment to make Reynolds look like he's spying on a senator. They also turn the same tactics used to discredit Dean on Reynolds, making his life miserable so he'll try to cut a deal. Brill compares it to guerilla warfare.
90	* HopelessWithTech: Dean, at least as far as Brill is concerned:
91	-->'''Brill:''' In your phone was a GPS sat-tracker. Pulses at 24 gigahertz.
92	-->'''Dean:''' I don't know what that means.
93	-->'''Brill:''' It's like a [=LoJack=], only two generations better than what the police have.
94	-->'''Dean:''' And what does that mean?
95	-->'''Brill:''' (''frustrated'') You speak English?
96	-->'''Dean:''' [[SarcasmMode Obviously not that well]].
97	-->'''Brill:''' Kind of a jerk, aren't ya? It means the NSA can read the time off your fucking wristwatch. You have something they want!
98	* ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin: The wildlife researcher who dumps the video onto Dean. The subsequent drama that ensues is because Dean doesn't even knows he ''has'' the video for a chunk of the film.
99	* ImproperlyParanoid: All of the hell that Dean suffers is because Reynolds takes one look at his history (lawyer, connections to various civil groups, friend of the guy that filmed the video), and the situation (random meeting after many years of not seeing in the middle of a chase, Daniel puts the videogame where he hid the video inside Dean's bag in a moment of desperation, Dean puts his foot down when his goons get too rash with their questions when they arrive to his house faking being cops) and immediately assumes "informant that will try to destroy my plans".
100	* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Brill uses a Baltimore PD uniform as a disguise to meet with the bad guys. [[spoiler:Becomes a ChekhovsGun when an FBI surveillance team sees him being ushered out of a van in front of a Mafia front they are doing surveillance on.]]
101	* 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]]. This 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]].
102	* IronicEcho: "You're either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid." Brill says this to Dean twice. The first time is when he leaves Dean on the hotel rooftop, when he thinks Dean is the latter. The second time is [[spoiler:when Brill realizes Dean has arranged the MexicanStandoff, and thinks Dean might be the former this time]].
103	* IWarnedYou: When Dean tells his wife their house, car, phones, etc. have all been bugged, she angrily reminds him she knew something like this might happen (which she had), to which he replies "This is not the time for the 'I told you so' speech."
104	* KindheartedCatLover: Brill might be a GrumpyOldMan, but he has great affection for his cat.
105	* KitchenChase: Daniel runs through a the kitchen of a club to escape the pursuing federal agents.
106	* KnightTemplar: Reynolds sees himself as this. Though it also turns out he is hoping for career advancement if the privacy bill passes.
107	-->''We never dealt with domestic. With us, it was always war. We won the war. Now we're fighting the peace. It's a lot more volatile. Now we've got ten million crackpots out there with sniper scopes, sarin gas and C-4. Ten-year-olds go on the Net, downloading encryption we can barely break, not to mention instructions on how to make a low-yield nuclear device. Privacy's been dead for years because we can't risk it. The only privacy that's left is the inside of your head. Maybe that's enough. You think we're the enemy of democracy, you and I? I think we're democracy's last hope.''
108	* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: When Dean and Carla have reunited at the end:
109	-->'''Carla:''' (''watching Congressman Albert admit they need to monitor the people monitoring their enemies'') Well, who's gonna monitor the monitors of the monitors?
110	-->'''Dean:''' I wouldn't mind doing a little monitoring myself.
111	-->'''Carla:''' (''looks at him'') Yes, and you've got lots and lots of monitoring to do.
112	-->'''Eric:''' [[FromTheMouthsOfBabes Are you guys talking about sex?]]
113	* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Like what Reynolds and his men did to him, Dean puts monitoring devices in Reynolds' home as well framing him for cheating and canceling his credit cars.]]
114	* LenoDevice: A Republican congressman (Congressman Albert) appears on Larry King.
115	* LingerieScene: [[FanserviceExtra Both models in a lingerie shop]] and Dean's wife. And it's plot-relevant ''both'' times.
116	* LookBothWays: Zavitz, the wildlife researcher.
117	* TheMafia: Dean starts by investigating one arm in DC [[spoiler:and uses them later on to get rid of the NSA agents.]]
118	* MagicalSecurityCam: Used by Reynolds' outfit.
119	* MaliciousSlander: Dean is victim of this.
120	* MexicanStandoff: [[spoiler:On a grand scale. Apparently played for laughs too when you know both parties are being suckered big time.]]
121	* MisaimedStereotyping: Robert Clayton is called a "shyster" by another character. He claims "shyster" is mainly a term of derision for Jewish lawyers, and in his case, the correct slur is "eggplant". In truth, this claim is both [[http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-shy1.htm wrong]] and [[AdHominem irrelevant]].
122	* MistakenForCheating: {{Justified}}. Carla suspects Dean of having an affair with Rachel not only due to the NSA sending her incriminating evidence of the two, but also because, four years prior, Dean ''did'' have an affair with her.
123	* MisterMuffykins: Dean's wife's stupid little dog, Porsche (which looks just like the one in the photo on that page!) Dean clearly can't stand it (who could?)
124	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Because Dean calls Carla's friend and her phone is bugged (even though he's calling from a pay phone), the NSA is able to track Brill's car and follow it to where he lives, causing him to take drastic measures - blowing up the building where he lives - and causing a CarChase between Brill and the NSA, which also ends up destroying the MacGuffin.
125	-->'''Dean''': [''as Brill is driving them away''] What the hell just happened?\
126	'''Brill''': I blew up the building!\
127	'''Dean''': Why?\
128	''''Brill''': Because you made a phone call!
129	* NoPartyGiven: The Congressman whose murder kicks off the plot is at one point explicitly said to be a Republican, although so is the Congressman who sponsored the surveillance expansion legislation that he was killed for opposing.
130	* 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."
131	* OnSecondThought:
132	** Carla is watching Congressman Albert talk about the need for increased surveillance on their enemies.
133	-->'''Dean:''' He's got a point there, sweetie.
134	-->'''Carla:''' (''gives him a DeathGlare'') Bobby!
135	-->'''Dean:''' I mean, who is this idiot, anyway?
136	** Also, when Brill is with Dean getting organized to take on Reynolds, and he gives him a shirt:
137	-->'''Dean''': Can I get something else, please?\
138	'''Brill''': (''hands him a Hawaiian shirt'') Sure, try this one.\
139	'''Dean''': Eh...never mind.
140	* OffTheGrid: TheHero is on the run from the [=NSA=]. He gets aid from "Brill," a former intelligence agent who retired after discovering just how Gestapo-like the [=NSA=] had become. He lives like a {{hikikomori}}, monitoring the world inside a caged room to prevent electronic "bleed" from revealing his hideout. Brill even wears a brimmed ball cap and never looks up to preclude spy satellites from recognizing his face.
141	* OneDialogueTwoConversations: [[spoiler:Dean engineers a meeting between the NSA and the mafiosi from the beginning of the movie. Neither party realizes that they're talking about two different tapes]].
142	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Brill pretends to be this to try and get Reynolds to make an EngineeredPublicConfession. [[spoiler: It doesn't work.]]
143	* PhotoIdentificationDenial: A variation when mobster Paulie Pintero is shown a video of himself at a barbecue with some people that, as a condition of his parole, he's not allowed to associate with.
144	-->[[BlatantLies That ain't me.]]
145	* 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 Reynolds and the Mafia leader Pintero will piss off each other enough]] to [[MutualKill kill each other]]. [[BatmanGambit It works]].]]
146	* PlotCoupon: The tape, which has recorded the murder of a congressman by a group of corrupt NSA agents. Logically, the tape is being coveted by them to destroy the evidence that would expose their guilt.
147	* PlotTriggeringDeath: [[spoiler: Hammersley's]] kickstarts, and later,[[spoiler: Zavitz's]] death starts the rest of the plot.
148	* Post911TerrorismMovie: And one that came out 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.
149	* ProperlyParanoid : Brill. Then again, he used to be a spook as well. Also see the TagLine.
150	* PsychoForHire: Krug and Jones, the two ex-military cutouts Reynolds asks for, a pair of dishonorably discharged marines who were jailed for beating up their Gunnery Sergeant. Particularly Jones, who is not sorry about it.
151	* PunchClockVillain: The technicians who work for Reynolds (one of them even seems to take a vacation for the rest of the movie - see 'What Happened to the Mouse?')
152	* RevealingCoverup: Dean actually knows nothing about the disk he has, and only starts investigating when the NSA goons start leaning on him.
153	* RunningGag: Dean's blender, which is stolen by the NSA goons.
154	* SecretMessageWink: Dean winks at Brill when he tells him near the end, "Watch out for the FBI." Brill shows he understands by winking back.
155	* SinisterSpyAgency: The National Security Agency, in its regular pop-culture personification as SinisterSurveillance incarnate, is the vilain of this story.
156	%%* SinisterSurveillance: The premise of the movie.
157	* SmallRoleBigImpact: Zavitz only had a minor one, but (accidentally) got the evidence that showed Reynolds and his men killing Hammersly. And he put the copy inside Dean's bag...
158	* SpiesInAVan: At a certain point, Dean decides to shoot 'em back by calling the cops about "a van in front of my house, possibly trafficking drugs!" HilarityEnsues.
159	* TheSpook: Brill was out of the grid for 18 years.
160	* SpottingTheThread: Dean becomes suspicious of [[spoiler:Brill]] due to a verbal slip up. [[spoiler:The real Brill rescues him shortly after.]]
161	* SpySatellites: One major limitation is pointed out: the satellites are only terribly useful if the person you are trying to track ever looks up. Brill makes a point of keeping his head level and wearing a baseball cap.
162	* SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands: To the point where they can look at things explicitly out of the camera's view. At the same time, SpySatellites seem very limited (they can't catch somebody's face unless he's looking straight up), yet on a later scene they allegedly were in perfect position to flawlessly film the travel of a single car from a random spot on suburban Pennsylvania all the way to its parking spot multiple miles away and that all it takes to review this intel is the coordinates of where it started to roll and its make, model and color.
163	* TagLine: "[[ProperlyParanoid It's not paranoia if they're really after you.]]"
164	* TakeOffYourClothes: Brill asks this to Dean because they are bugs hidden inside them, even his shoes. Eventually he does... to the enjoyment of an Asian lady.
165	* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Brill and Dean really don't get along, but they're forced to work together when the NSA goes after both of them.
166	-->'''Dean''': [''pointing Brill's own shotgun at him''] I'm all you've got! And you're all I've got!
167	* TelevisionGeography: The Baltimore and DC locations change pretty quickly...
168	* TrainEscape: Brill's car breaks near the tracks, forcing him and Reynolds to escape hiding between the passing trains.
169	* TrainingAccident: Or at least that was how they planned it to look like.
170	* TranquilFury: Admiral Shaffer, after Congressman Albert's hotel room is bugged:
171	-->'''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.
172	* TranslationMatchmaking: The movie is called ''Public Enemy of The Country'' (国家公敌) in China, and ''Public Enemy of All People'' (全民公敵) in Taiwan. ''Film/IRobot'' is called ''Robotic Public Enemies'' (機械公敵) in Taiwan, because of ''Creator/WillSmith'' starring in both films.
173	* TropicalEpilogue: Brill does this at the end of the movie, broadcasting a hilarious video message to Dean's television.
174	* TheUnfettered: Reynolds, who will do anything he considers necessary to protect his country, and his career. Which includes having people killed (at one point he almost does it himself). His goal here is to create even more of a surveillance society by getting the privacy bill passed by Congress, because America is constantly under threat.
175	* WellIntentionedExtremist: Reynolds certainly gives the impression of believing that he has the best interests of national security at heart, but he's still a corrupt murderer. Subverted when we overhear his wife say that if the privacy bill passes a consequence is that he will likely be promoted, pushing him into a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist.
176	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
177	** 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?
178	** The imposter Brill played by Gabriel Byrne doesn't appear anywhere again through the rest of the film after Dean escapes from him.
179	* WhoWatchesTheWatchmen: One of the aesops of the film. During the end, Robert and Carla are watching a TV news interview with Congressman Albert and this trope is discussed both on the TV and then by them.
180	-->'''Congressman Albert:''' 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.\
181	'''Carla:''' Well, who's going to monitor the monitors of the monitors?
182	* WrongfullyAccused: Dean. After he's framed for the murder of [[spoiler: Rachel Banks]] so he's easier to catch.
183	* WrongInsultOffence: Dean, to the mob:
184	--> Actually, I believe the slur "shyster" is generally reserved for Jewish attorneys. I believe the proper slur for someone like myself would be "eggplant".

Context Film / EnemyoftheState