Meh.

Well, I'm now 3 for 3 for March, as Inside Man was one hell of an entertaining heist flick.

Things got off to sort of a bumpy start with the opening credits music, which was so awful I was squirming in my seat. For this genre of film I just thought it was completely inappropriate (I think it's a song and not a part of the original score by Blanchard, which is actually quite good). But after that first little mis-step, the movie took off.

The major strength of Inside Man is in the script and the two main performances delivered by Clive Owen and Denzel Washington. We're presented with the usual set-up; four bank-robbers led by Owen's character "Dalton" enter a bank dressed in painters coveralls and masks and proceed with their attempted robbery (or so it seems), while Denzel's detective "Frazier" is given the assignment of overseeing the ensuing hostage situation. It becomes quickly apparent that Dalton is not there to take the banks money and a further layer of intrigue is presented by way of the bank's owner (Christopher Plummer) who believes there to be something valuable to him at risk in a safety deposit box.

Owen is fantastic in his role. A grizzled badass that is such a commanding presence in that hood and mask. I didn't really know what to expect from his character and then that first scene with the keys and telephones came along and knocked me on my ass. I loved the intelligence he displayed and how he was always one step ahead of everyone else. On the other end, Denzel was solid as always. It was refreshing to see his character and Dafoe's not degenerate into the cliched power struggle seen in other similar films and the way everyone in the truck worked together and made intelligent decisions was good to see. However, the stand-out moments of the film came in the inter-play between Dalton and Frazier and their tension filled scenes together. A big smile crossed my face when Frazier mentioned having seen Dog Day Afternoon and that nobody escapes that kind of a situation on an airplane. It's an example of a pop-culture reference that works and it's very smart writing.

Spike Lee does a wonderful job with this movie, managing to weave the various threads in and out and provide the audience with just enough clues to keep us thinking and on our toes. It was a good little trick to present Dalton at the very beginning as if he was caught and was telling someone the story of the failed robbery. Also effective was the intermitent interrogations, shown in a heavily filtered film stock, obviously taking place after the fact, so we know that certain people got out safe and we also know that Dalton must have somehow elluded authorities. It's also nice to see that Spike's trademark psychotic dolly shot made another appearance, twice actually (Plummer at his desk and Denzel on the street). I was impressed with the photography, in particular the way the bank is lit at night when Foster's character is talking with Dalton and again when Dalton is taking Frazier on a tour. Good stuff.

My main criticism of Inside Man, aside from that awful song that bookends the movie, is the Jodie Foster character and denouement of the film. We get zero background on who she is and how she can command such power and apart from that, her line delivery kind of annoyed me with its air of cockiness. It is a blessing that she has little screen-time and isn't that important a character. More pressing are the issues I had with the final act. I think it should have wrapped itself almost immediately after Dalton walked out the front door of the bank. That was a great moment and yet the audience is forced to sit through another conversation between Foster and Plummer, Foster and Denzel and then yet another with Foster Denzel and the Mayor. It's too much extraneous exposition and it took a little impact away from the movie. The very end at Frazier's home, was a cute touch though.

So there it is. A refreshing take on a well-tread genre, tense and exciting, with many bits of real humour (dug the video game conversation between the kid and Dalton), a smart screenplay, great performances from Clive and Denzel and a satisfying conclusion.

A-

Awww what? That Bollywood song sets the right tone for the movie, I actually really liked it. The remix at the end really was proper for the movie I thought.

Sorry, I found it terribly annoying and completely separate from the tone of the rest of the film.

The whole social culture theme, mixing bollywood with rap at the end was pretty clear on that. Also grabs the audience attention, you expect something different when you hear a song like that.

Agreed, I loved the song it just worked really well.

An hour into this movie, I was thinkin' - yeah, they really got it goin' on!

But then, by the end of two and a quarter hours, I was plum worn out. Phew! And I love heist movies (and hostage movies), and this one had an ace storyline, in fact there was enough storyline for a good heist movie and a good hostage movie. It reminded me of Domino - too much of a good thing. If this puppy had had it's tail trimmed by about a half hour, it coulda been a contender!

All the leads are, of course, first rate (not to mention some serious unmentioned supporting actors like Willem Dafoe and Christopher Plummer). But there's no big payoff to their combined participation in this film. It feels like Imagine Entertainment sat down with Spike Lee and began under the working title "Commercial Partnership Project"...

3 out of 5.

INSIDE MAN

Where: Harkins OKOKC
When: 032406@2235
Size/Occ : 250/70%

Trailer:
Poseidon - movie looks more ridiculous the more times i see this stupid trailer
MI3 - best of the bunch, i want to see mi4
Breakup movie - funny film vaughn is on a roll
United 93 - i love how it says "story of...." something to that, ne way not Based on a True Story of course not since this film will be pure fiction and pure crap and pure propaganda

Audience Reaction during Film: I think that people were excited for this film and were interested in the film and I think got really into the film. There were good amounts of laughter during the film although the laughing during the "arab" guy complaining about his turban and "random searches" not being random felt uncomfortable to me. I can definitely say that after the end of the bank robbery the audience was clearly getting just as restless as I was and losing interest. Didn't bother to listen for any comments after end since I could "sense" it anyway.

Film: Poor Spike Lee, can he direct a film anymore or was it the source material used to make this film? Anyone who tells you they were intrigued all the way to the end is lying, anyone who says they didn't start to lose interest towards the end is lying and anyone who tells you that this film is about 15 minutes to long is also lying. There's no denying that I was interested very much in the film going into and during but after the end of the robberty things just began to go on and on. Sometimes a film doesn't need to wrap every detail and be meticulous or appear to act "smart" for the audience by weaving a big plot finale where instead the film just ends so anticlimactically that your left with nothing but being unfulfilled and feeling like you seriously wasted not only your time and money. This isn't to say that the film had it's moments because I was very glued to the film in the beginning and thought Clive's character and Jodie's character were very interesting. In fact, I think Jodie should go for more roles where she plays a shady character because it was a satisfying change from what she's been doing. Denzel was his usual dependable self but even his character just became boring toward the end. Again probably due to the film being longer than needed. The plot was fine up to a point but again the tying up of some loose ends at the end was unnecessary imo. Again, some films don't need everything all tidy at the end. Acting was good, cinematog there wasn't much of, sound was good as well and plot was sufficient. All in all, it was a decent film that starts off interesting but ends up boring.

Grade C

Loved every single second.

Oh, and the opening music? The most random thing I've ever seen. I read Benny's music complaint before I left, but I was just shocked. It's such an... odd... choice.

Definately one of the most well-crafted films of recent memory. Its absolutely brilliantly lacking. Yeah, its great and keeps you guessing, but its a bit too hokey from time to time. There are certain moments that just don't work, and some that work perfectly.

Its far better then a mixed bag, but its not quite a masterpiece. I'm leaning toward a B+

It's extremely early but Owen really does deserve a best supporting nomination for this film, he was awsome. It's really a great character, different layers to him.

I definitely agree with the thoughts on Owen. He was very good in this film, very believable. He's calm nature really goes over nicely but when he veers off into anger you know he means it. I still liked Jodie's character alot imo. It was just so biting and different. Has Jodie done any other roles where she has been as seductive and threatening?

Great film!!! It resorted to the genre cliches quite noticably.

Jodie was great. Longer review later, still thinking about the grade, but it will be around the B+ mark.

It was a really good film.

The first hour and a half was very well done, rivaling Oceans 11 in terms of script and action and heist cleverness.

The end third of the movie took a dramatic downward plunge, and I wasn't to fond of it.

Overall still an enjoyable movie, but nothing to get excited about.

B

I thought the last 30 mins were great.

any spoiler?

The script sucked.
There are many plot holes.
[spoil]Exactly how did Clive Owen's character discover the oh-so-tight secret of Arthur the nazi banker?[/spoil]
Way too much race relations commentary.
Trying to be artsy. comedic, dramatic, innovative, original, all at once. Didn't work.,
BUT...

performances were great and despite my qualms listed above, the movie's concept hints at brilliance (just doesnt fully execute well).
B

Extremely entertaining. The over two hour run time just flew by. Owen and Washington are fantastic. You can't looke away when either is on screen. The script is brilliant at times. Lee's direction is flawless, with a terrific pace and some amazing visuals. I only have three qualms with the film, really. Foster's character is botched in a big way (what the hell was she?), Owen's knowledge of the Nazi documents is never explained, and everything after Owen walks out of the bank feels like major filler. It seems like Lee didn't really know how to end the film. Still, an incredibly solid film that is one of the best of it's type I've ever seen.

B+

Dalton's knowledge of the Nazi documents probably came from the old Jewish guy, who acted like a civilian during the robbery, but showed up in the black car with the others to pick Dalton up.

ok, fine. how did the old Jewish guy know?

Why does it matter? It might be interesting to know, but its not neccessary.

Also, at the Dalton makes a comment about how he "stole from us," that could mean Jews ing eneral or it oculd mean one of Dalton's ancestors, who could explain how he knows.

I disagree. I think it's important when dealing with a film like this that all of the information is on the table by the time the credits roll. A film is allowed more wiggle room with things like this if it's heavily artistic or abstract and doesn't rely on it's plot so much. This film hinges on it's intricate plot and our understanding of it, though.

I might agree if finding out "the secret" was a big part of the film, but it wasn't, Dalton gives up the info to easily. I felt the film focused more on the dnamics of a heist, why the hesit occurs is a secondquestion , albiet interesting, but not one I need answered.

Who cares.