Inside Man

A-

Out of all the movies out right now, this seemed like the best bet. I was a little nervous because you have a big name director in Spike Lee who can get the benefit of the doubt from critics even if his movie isn't that good. But this isn't anything like a Spike Lee movie. He didn't write it or produce it, they just seemed to drag him into it. This is really a classic caper movie, with Spike only becoming apparent by the use of overhead shots and some kind of film-school reverse zoom where the background zooms out while the character in the foreground stays put. It is probably a mistake to use it, let alone so many times, and then to pull it off poorly (you would think they would have kept Denzel from bumping around while he was riding the dolly). Still, the movie is very stylish and reminds me of Ocean's Eleven or The Italian Job, though there is less action and more dialog and humor here.

The movie centers around out-of-favor detective Denzel Washington trying to negotiate a hostage situation with a very smart bank robber played perfectly by Clive Owen. In fact it's just a big giant smartfest because Denzel is pretty smart too. Then you throw in Jodie Foster just for some gratuitous gray matter. Still, I like characters that rely more on their brains than their ability to fight on moving subway cars or dodge bullets. Some of the resulting dialogue is just great and might warrant an Oscar nomination for Russell Gewirtz' screenplay.

The bank gets robbed in the first few minutes and the rest of the movie takes place during the ensuing standoff. Details trickle out and it is very interesting watching the movie develop. Flash-forwards are dropped in to give you clues about how things are resolved, but you won't be absolutely sure how it all plays out, or even why this has happened, until the end. For the most part all of the loose ends are brought together, but there are still some lingering questions that have put some people off.

I love a good caper film and this one was a lot of fun for me. I'll give it an A-.

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