History Film / SnakeEyes

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Rick Santoro solves the conspiracy, most of the conspirators - including the mastermind - wind up dead, and he even gets the girl. But the media uncovers his corruption and he's set to do jail time at the end, but only for a couple of years.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: Each time Santoro interviews somebody about what happened during the fight and the assassination, the narrated flashbacks are seen through the teller's eyes. (In continuous first-person point of view shots). One of these flashbacks is entirely made up by person narrating the flashback.

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Nearly every twist or the film is spoiled by the trailer, including the identities of most of the conspirators. It doesn't give their motives, but that barely matters even in the film itself. About the only one in the conspiracy that isn't ''completely'' given away by the trailer is [[spoiler:Kevin Dunne]], but only just, and a couple of shots and some dialog of his that seems sinister is included, so the audience would probably come in expecting him to be the bad guy, or at least suspecting it.

Dunne had followed the redhead to a hallway close to where the assassin took the shots and thus Dunne is quickly able to dispatch the assassin, but the redhead disappears during the shooting. Meanwhile Costello is doing her best to blend in with the crowd and lay low in the aftermath, but Rick is determined to find her, as she may be an accomplice, and if she's not, then she's a witness. As he investigates, however, he soon realizes that there are layers of deception at play, as the heavyweight champ turns out to have faked his knockout, having been paid to do so by the mysterious redhead, and Kirkland had enemies in both the military and private sector, especially since he was evaluating a new military technology project and certain factions within the military and the corporation hired for the project would be furious if he didn't approve it. Rick finds himself facing a conspiracy made up of people far more ruthless than he is, while Dunne is his only backup.

* AssassinsAreAlwaysBetrayed: [[spoiler:The assassin's usefulness is over the second he pulls the trigger, and he is quickly killed. The other conspirators make light of how he was unaware this would be the case.]]

* TakeMeOutAtTheBallGame: Secretary of Defense Charles Kirkland is assassinated in a high-profile Atlantic City boxing match.

%%* TrailersAlwaysSpoil

* VillainousBSOD: After being caught in the middle of trying to kill Nick and complete the assassination of Julia, [[spoiler:Kevin]] belatedly realizes how screwed he is; he can't [[spoiler:pull rank]] with the local cops who have him dead to rights, he's caught on camera, and no one is left who will try to save him or corroborate his story. He more or less goes into shock and briefly becomes an empty shell of a man as he realizes that his entire life's work is crashing down around him and there's nothing he can do about it. He even gets a ThousandYardStare for a few seconds. When he gradually comes back to himself and realizes that there aren't any good options for him, he quickly commits suicide rather than live through the HumiliationConga that will come after being arrested.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Gilbert Powell for Creator/DonaldTrump. The casino scenes were even shot in the Taj Mahal Hotel & Casino, which was owned by Trump at the time.
** Considering Trump’s…[[{{YMMV}} contentious]] foray into politics, the film’s plot comes across as [[HarsherInHindsight quite prescient]].

%%* HollywoodSilencer

Dunne had followed the redhead to a hallway close to where the assassin took the shots and thus Dunne is quickly able to dispatch the assassin, but the redhead disappears during the shooting. Meanwhile Costello is doing her best to blend in with the crowd and lay low in the aftermath, but Rick is determined to find her, as she may be an accomplice. As he investigates, however, he soon realizes that there are layers of deception at play, as the heavyweight champ turns out to have faked his knockout, having been paid to do so by the mysterious redhead, and Kirkland had enemies in both the military and private sector, especially since he was evaluating a new military technology project and certain factions within the military and the corporation hired for the project would be furious if he didn't approve it. Rick finds himself facing a conspiracy made up of people far more ruthless than he is, while Dunne is his only backup.

* PullTheThread: One of the things Santoro notes right after the assassination is the when the bullets fired, the supposedly groggy and knocked out champ Lincoln was startled by them and looking around alertly. This gives him the first big lead to the conspiracy that is afoot.

** The casino was making use of a brand new flying camera to catch crowd reactions during the fight. It happened to be pointed at the perfect place to show [[spoiler:that Dunne wasn't distracted by the mystery redhead after all, he was alone as the assassin fired the shots and had purposefully used an excuse to leave his post so he could be in position to kill the assassin.]]

* VillainHasAPoint: [[spoiler:Kevin]] tells Nick step-by-step what would happen if he succeeded in playing the hero. How he would be praised at first, until they found out about his corrupt past. He was right.
* VillainousBSOD: After being caught in the middle of trying to kill Nick and complete the assassination of Julia, [[spoiler:Kevin]] belatedly realizes how screwed he is; he can't [[spoiler:pull rank]] with the local cops who have him dead to rights, he's caught on camera, and no one is left who will try to save him or corroborate his story. He more or less goes into shock and briefly becomes an empty shell of a man as he realizes that his entire life's work is crashing down around him and there's nothing he can do about it and no way out. His eyes even go blank and get a ThousandYardStare. When he gradually comes back to himself and confirms there are no good options for him, he quickly commits suicide rather than live through the HumiliationConga that will come next.

* DirtyCop: The boisterous protagonist Rick Santoro is an arrogant, corrupt detective who sees Atlantic City as his own WretchedHive. He takes bribes, doesn't hesitate to use PoliceBrutality, and sleeps around on his wife. [[spoiler:The conspirators even get him involved because they knew he could be bought if he found out too much. He draws the line at plain murder, though.]]

** The redhead Serena is in fact a blonde wearing a very conspicuous wig and sexy dress so that everyone will notice the hair and her cleavage so that she'll go unrecognized when the wig is off and she's dressed normally.

* ChekhovsGun: Subverted. There is a huge ball that has been lying on the ground for most of the movie. Almost inviting you to believe that is plot relevant and will eventually roll over someone. It doesn't. However, this was only [[FocusGroupEnding because test audiences didn't like the originally-planned ending]] in which it does roll over the main villain.

* FocusGroupEnding: [[spoiler:Before the focus groups got their hands (er, eyes) on it, De Palma had a chase through a flooded tunnel and the bad guy getting run over by a globe which has been [[ChekhovsGun lying on the ground since the start of the movie]]. When it came to theaters, the chase doesn't go through a flooded tunnel (thus at odds with Nic Cage's reference to it in the epilogue), the globe gets washed off by a wave, and the bad guy kills himself.]]

Rick Santoro (Cage) is a [[DirtyCop corrupt police detective]], serving in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He has been bullying people and accepting payoffs for years. One day, Rick attends a heavyweight championship boxing match. Also in attendance is Charles Kirkland (Joel Fabiani), the United States Secretary of Defense. Among those escorting Kirkland is Kevin Dunne (Creator/GarySinise), a Navy Commander and close personal friend of Santoro. During the match Julia Costello (Creator/CarlaGugino) attempts to approach Kirkland. Sudden gunshots wound Costello and kill Kirkland. Havoc ensues throughout the arena as the fight is stopped and fans stampede toward the exits.

Rick is at first determined to track Julia, considering her a suspect. He soon realizes however that Kirkland was killed due to an unpopular decision of his, canceling a missile defense project. Certain elements of the military forces felt the project was necessary. The corporation hired to create the project wasn't happy either. Rick finds himself facing a conspiracy, with the conspirators being far more ruthless than him.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: At the end of the movie, [[spoiler:the BigBad shoots himself rather than be taken alive or shot by the police]].
* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler:The best friend of Rick Santoro turns out to be a WellIntentionedExtremist with blood on his hands.]]

* TheChainsOfCommanding: Kevin tells Santoro of being on the ''Renville'' when it was attacked and suffered a breach. In about a minute, the entire ship would've sunk, so Kevin had to order the given area sealed off, which trapped a number of men with rushing water. As he says, drowning victims don't die quietly or pleasantly. [[spoiler:Kevin is telling this story when explaining his motivation for the conspiracy]].

-->'''Dunne''': I was three feet away from a known terrorist, and I had [[MyEyesAreUpHere my eyes buried in some broad's tits]].
-->'''Santoro''': Well, Kevin, this might not make you feel better, but don't you see? [[MemeticMutation That's what she was there for, that was the plan. To give you a boner. And you got one!]] Congratulations, you're human.

* FaceHeelTurn: Lincoln Tyler initially only participated in the conspiracy by pretending to be knocked out, knowing nothing of the rest of the plan and only doing it to pay off his gambling debts. After [[spoiler:Kevin]] offers him even more money, he becomes a completely willing participant and tries to murder Santoro.

* FieryRedhead: Serena played by Jayne Heitmeyer.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: The film ends with Nick, the [[DirtyCop Corrupt Cop main character]], being praised by the media as a hero for stopping the assassination of a political whistleblower. [[spoiler:However, after he becomes a national hero and a media darling, all the poorly hidden corruption in his life quickly come to the surface. Every criminal that he ever shook down or was a [[PoliceBrutality brutal]] {{Jerkass}} to is quick to try to [[TheDogBitesBack bring him down]] by telling about Nick's corruption, all his SuspiciousSpending is brought to public attention, etc. This all leads to him getting fired, divorced, and facing prison time. Turns out that it doesn't matter if you're considered a hero, having all your bad behavior brought to the surface can force the police and society to turn on your for all the things you've done.]]

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Santoro is a [[DirtyCop sleazy corrupt cop]] who suddenly finds his conscience when he uncovers and subsequently tries to prevent a plot to assassinate a political whistleblower. [[spoiler:He succeeds, and in the epilogue he is initially hailed as a hero, but winds up going to jail after the extra publicity shines a light on his shady past.]]
* TheOner: De Palma loves this trope and Snake Eyes is primarily known for this.

* PitGirls: Rick Santoro (Nic Cage) flirts with one of these who's holding the card fo round #7 before the big fight. She calls him on his phone during a vital moment, unfortunately distracting him when the Secretary of Defense, who was seated near him, is assassinated by a sniper.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Jose Pacifico inadvertently unravels part of the conspiracy. Lincoln was supposed to take a dive when [[spoiler:Zeitz]] said a specific code phrase and sell it appropriately, but Jose wasn't performing as required for this to work (doing other moves and showboating essentially). Lincoln ended up having to throw himself back, which is why the supposed knockout punch didn't actually connect and why Santoro could see Kevin was fully conscious after the assassination occurred. After seeing footage of the punch not connecting, Santoro knows who to start talking to.

* TakeMeOutAtTheBallGame: Charles Kirkland is assassinated in a high-profile Atlantic City boxing match.
* ThrowingTheFight: Footage of the boxing fight does not only reveal details of the assassination but that Tyler faked a knockout.
* TrappedByGamblingDebts: The reason Tyler joins up with the conspiracy.

* UnreliableNarrator: Out of the many flashbacks narrated in continuous first-person point of view shots, one is a pure invention by the narrator.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Kevin's reason for why he got involved with the assassination of the Secretary of Defense: the Secretary was putting politics above the safety of American Sailors who once suffered heavy loses without the next-generation air defense missile technology the Secretary had cancelled.]]
* WigDressAccent: Julia appears at the fight in a blonde wig and white dress when she attempts to talk to Kirkland.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: The film ends with Nick, the [[DirtyCop Corrupt Cop main character]], being praised by the media as a hero for stopping the assassination of a political whistleblower. [[spoiler:However, after he becomes a national hero and a media darling, all the poorly hidden corruption in his life quickly come to the surface. Every criminal that he ever shook down or was a [[PoliceBrutality brutal]] {{Jerkass}} to is quick to try to [[TheDogBitesBack bring him down]] by telling about Nick's corruption, all his SuspiciousSpending is brought to public attention, etc. This all leads to him getting fired, divorced, and facing prison time. Turns out that it doesn't matter if you're considered a hero, having all your bad behavior brought to the surface can force the police and society to turn on your for all the things you've done.]]

* OnceMoreWithClarity The movie shows flashbacks from the perspective different people about the same scenes [[UnreliableNarrator (or not)]] adding a little more context each time.

%%* SplitScreen

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Kevin's reason for why he got involved with the assassination of the Secretary of Defense: the Secretary was putting politics above the safety of American Sailors who once suffered heavy loses without the next-generation air defense missile technology the Secretary had cancelled.]]

* RealityEnsues: The film ends with Nick, the [[DirtyCop Corrupt Cop main character]], being praised by the media as a hero for stopping the assassination of a political whistleblower. [[spoiler:However, after he becomes a national hero and a media darling, all the poorly hidden corruption in his life quickly come to the surface. Every criminal that he ever shook down or was a [[PoliceBrutality brutal]] {{Jerkass}} to is quick to try to [[TheDogBitesBack bring him down]] by telling about Nick's corruption, all his SuspiciousSpending is brought to public attention, etc. This all leads to him getting fired, divorced, and facing prison time. Turns out that it doesn't matter if you're considered a hero, having all your bad behavior brought to the surface can force the police and society to turn on your for all the things you've done.]]

For the ''Franchise/GIJoe'' character, check the [[Characters/GIJoe G.I. Joe character sheet]].

* TrappedBgGamblingDebts: The reason Tyler joins up with the conspiracy.

* ThrowingTheFight: Footage of the boxing fight does not only reveal details of the assassination but that one guy faked a knockout.

* RealityEnsues: The film ends with the [[DirtyCop Corrupt Cop hero]] being praised by the media as a hero for stopping the assassination of a political whisleblower. [[spoiler: Only for the extra attention generated by the media to bring his shady past to the forefront, leading to him getting fired, divorced, and facing prison time. Turns out that it doesn't matter if you're considered a hero, the police take allegations of corruption ''very'' seriously.]]

* DistractedByTheSexy / ShowSomeLeg: An attractive woman is planted in the crowd to get Dunne out of the way for the assassination.

* TurnOffTheCamera: When the Secretary of Defense is [[TakeMeOutAtTheBallGame assassinated at a major boxing event]], photographers immediately swarm over the site. Detective Rick Santoro punches out one of them and tells the guards to get the rest off the crime scene.