Inside Man (Widescreen Edition)

As expected, Denzel Washington is in excellent form. I cannot even imagine him being any better, considering the body of work he has amassed during his career. Washington was eerily on point in "Malcolm X", smoothly sensual in "Mo Better Blues", and so intense in "Training Day" that he made me want to marry a thug!

In this flick, he exhibits everything that makes Denzel a master at his craft. His character is arrogant, thuggish, and intuitive. While I'm not a fan of director Spike Lee's choice of projects over the years, I find his crisp cinematography, inventive camera angles, intelligent editing, and moving jazzy soundtracks very impressive and a dominant thread in all of his films. The growth in these areas are evident here, exhibiting an inter-dependent and mutually beneficial relationship in this, Washington and Lee's fourth film together.

As for the other characters, Jodie Foster's talents are wasted - she just coasted through the film, with overtones of Clarice in "Silence of the Lambs". It seems as if she was included so that the movie trailer announcer could say "Academy Award Winner" twice! As for Clive Owen, this is the best that I have ever seen him, as charismatic and sympathetic as Hannibal Lechter. Chiwetel Ejiofor holds his own against the dominant Washington, giving the star the requisite amount of support and respect. The only person that I found totally out of place was that actress was who played Denzel's girlfriend. It took a lot more time than I usually allot to researching my reviews to find out who she was. I think her name is Cassandra Freeman. She had one film role before this and IT SHOWS! Her whole role could have been portrayed just as easily over the phone. In addition to Freeman's "school play" acting skills, her part was non-essential to the plot and far too young for the maturing Washington. She is a full THIRTY YEARS YOUNGER than Washington! What the ....?! For some reason, Hollywood seems to thrive on the older-man-way-too-much-younger-woman theme, instead of giving these female roles to "les femmes d'un certain âge". Look at whose dominating the box office and award shows: Helen Mirren ("The Queen"), Meryl Streep ("The Devil Wears Prada"), and Judi Dench ("Notes on a Scandal"), etc. I can see the director not wasting such a vapid role on a top actress but, either beef up the role to make it worthy of a Angela Bassett, or have the lines called in, "Charlie's Angels"-style.

The Inside Man

This is probably the cleverest bank robbery movie I've ever seen. Clive Owens plays the mastermind and part of the mastery of the crime is that right off the bat, he beats the crap out of the bank president and then asks the rest, "Who else here is smarter than me?" Needless to say, everyone immediately becomes compliant. Then he has everyone undress and put on work clothes that look exactly like the bank robbers', which is important at the end of the movie because everyone looks alike when they come out, robbers look like hostages and vice versa, leaving the police scratching their heads. They can't even bring in sharpshooters because they don't know which people are the robbers. And all of the robbers call each other variations of "Steve"--Steve, Steven, Stevie, etc.

The bank is chosen because of the bank's president, a former Nazi conspirator who acquired wealth from helping the Nazis sell off the wealth of Jewish families during WWII. He has hidden a very famous and expensive French diamond ring, along with a boatload of huge diamonds, in one of the bank's safety deposit boxes.

Denzel Washington plays the lead cop trying to negotiate the release of the hostages. Jodie Foster plays a mysterious woman who "makes things happen" and has important connections. She represents the bank owner's interest in getting the robbery shoved under the rug so no one discovers what's really hidden in that safety deposit box. The film flashes between the actual events and eyewitness accounts of the hostages as they are being interviewed after the crime. This is kind of jarring, but the film itself is wonderful. The music is delightful. You will love the ending.

This film proven to be a hit at the box office for filmmaker Spike Lee. I usually avoid his films like the plague since I've grown tired of his preaching on race and the ills of this country but for once, he has delivered a solid, entertaining movie. The cast, for starters, is excellent. Denzil Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Plummer & Chiwetel Ejiotor really deliver the goods in this slick heist movie. Seemingly a heist film, this film is more than that and thank god, Lee steers away from his political preaching. If you've avoided his films in the past, do check this one out--you'll probably like it.

The latest Spike Lee Joint, Inside Man, is the best bank heist movie since Pacino's Dog Day Afternoon... but it's much better. For those who may have thought that Spike has gone mainstream, you need to see the way he spins this plot. It's not even over when it's over, and the characters are built as multi-layered, free forms. This film is what you go to the theater to experience.

It's a crime drama. It's a mystery; it's a thriller. We're given a stellar cast: Denzel Washington, Willem Defoe, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer. It's about a bank robbery, but Denzel steals the film. Whenever he gets together with Spike, you tend to just let them work their magic. Inside Man is no different. There are perhaps three film makers who know New York City like the back of their hands - Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and, yes, Spike Lee. Lee really captures the raw grit and emotion of the streets of New York and its people, post 9/11.

Spike Lee's modern take on the bank heist movie is a more effective social commentary than action movie. As entertaining and as suspenseful as the movie is, because the market is so full of shocking endings and neat plot twists that you already know that the ending will be something clever, which in itself has become formulaic, at least with movies in recent years. What makes this movie fun and socially relevant is the way Lee, in both subtle and not so subtle ways, includes matters of race, redemption, and guilt amidst a story pitting a highly intelligent criminal (Clive Owen) and a detective who has an insatiable desire to uncover the truth (Denzel Washington). This really is the kind of movie to watch on a late evening when you want to sit back and be entertained.