A smart action movie carried by some of the finest actors. It went at a nice pace, keeping me wondering and when it all came together there was a 'woah' moment. Also, how can you resist the charm of Clive Oven? I couldn't.
Spike Lee is lurking in various fields these days,the heist film might not suit him at first and yet he manages to flare the thin air with a touch of political madness,Washington and Owen in high spirits and even if the scenario plunges a wee bit,it still remains an enjoyable film to check out.
I'm a sucker for a good heist movie and this was a cracker. Great script for the very respectible cast to get their teeth into with Mr Reliable Washington owning the screen as per usual. Great to see Jodie Foster playing a flawed, corrupt character instead of the 'Mum in peril' role that she seems to have sunk into recently.
Reading the plot for this movie got my eyes rolling (yet another boring bank robbery flick) but this flick is not your typical bankrobbery movie! It has a great cast and has really good twists and turns to keep you guessing.
A group of what appears to be painters enters a New York City Bank, and lock the doors. One of them then disables the security cameras with a flashlight equipped with an infrared light.
They then reveal high-powered weapons, and ordering everybody on the ground. When they secure the place, they order all the adult hostages to strip down to their underwear, and put on clothing identical to their own. The strange thing is, they aren't interested in the vault.
Two NYPD detectives are assigned to the case, and head to the scene to negotiate with the robbers/hostage takers. One of the detectives, played by Denzel Washington, believes that there is a lot more to the story than the villains are telling the authorities through released hostages.
The bank's president (Christopher Plumber) has a secret in the bank that the hostage situation is taking place in, and to keep it secret he hires an independent negotiator (Jodie Foster) to go into the bank and put his secret into her hands to bring it out and away from the NYPD.
There are some real strong performances in this movie. Washington is believable in his role as a police detective/hostage negotiator. Foster, who is not in the movie that much actually, also puts forth a strong performance. In fact, the entire cast is good.
The script was strong, and interesting, although I think there may have been some plot holes. The flashback and interrogation scenes helped advance the story nicely.
The soundtrack was pretty unique. To me, many of the songs appeared to have African influences. There were no classic tunes everybody knows, and no annoyingly catchy songs that you'll be humming for a week after seeing the movie.
There are numerous twists in this film that are spread out just enough so you will notice them. Spike Lee did a very good job with everything in the direction of this movie.
Phenomenally well-done cops/robbers drama. I liked the messages, and the fact that there was not a shred of love story! (Which is why it's not well reviewed by women here). It would be rated higher by guys but it's so very smart that it probably loses people. And also it feels long. But that's neither here nor there. It's one of the best hostage movies of all time.
It's a first-rate no-holds-barred crime -thriller. Sizzeling, craclkeling and smart and totally engaging. A piercing bullet of suspense and excitment. It will keep you on the edge with it's brain and everything you can want in a movie. You'll be guessing right till the end. An awsome cast. Denzel Washington and Clive Owen give superb performances. With these two great actors going head to head crossing wit and intencity is like watching a dream come true. A great all-star cast. Jodie Foster gives a tough, confident and teriffic performance. Christopher Plummer, Chiwetel Ejifore and Willem Dafoe also give great performances. Movies dont get any better than this. Wickedly cool and satisfyingly ingenious. Director, Spike Lee crafts his best film in years. It stands with the 25th Hour and Malcom X.
I love the cast and the director, but I saw every twist coming. Why is it that every British or European elderly man has to be linked to Nazis? At points the film does work but overall there is too much that is too simple or transparent.
Heist movies almost always captivate, but this one was one of those that killed it. Laboriously long without much action one would expect from a supposedly action-packed flick, and tapers to an insipid ending.
Clive Owen is DAH MAN.
This movie shows the events that led to a PERFECT bank robbery. But who said they were there to steal money? Quite bizarre though really, a bank robbery but no money was taken? My initial reaction? HMMMMM... not your average bank heist movie!
The quick witted Dalton stalls time while trying to access a particular deposit box, and with both robbers and hostages inside the bank, Dalton uses his intelligence to disguise his bad guys as hostages also.
Clever you think? Not impressed yet?
Don't even get me started on the other aspects of the perfect robbery: The fake execution, the infra-red, or him hiding at the back of the storeroom in the bank- literally the INSIDE MAN.
Sorry if I spoiled the movie but your fault for reading my review haha.
Foster and Denzel gave average performances, but it was Clive that came out on top. SHOW ME THE DIAMONDS DALTON!
This thriller was truly stupendous, the camera tells the story and twists the tale in every scene! Clive Owen went up in my opinion as an actor after this film, it's most definately worth a watch if you are into this kind of thing!
A recent lesson for Hollywood proving that good crime films can still be done, and teaches how they should be made... Thank you very much for that Lee. And of course, Washington is awesome, as usual.
A cunning bank robber plans the perfect heist and plays a cat and mouse game with hostage negotiator Denzel Washington. Oh, my...the originality. Well, this is a polished Hollywood thriller and I could probably just leave it at that and everyone would know exactly what they were going to get. Spike Lee directs with style and efficiency and there's some smart dialogue between Denzel and the always reliable Clive Owen, heading up a quality supporting cast. But let's face it this formula has been used so many times that the entire film left me with a feeling of Deja Vu, reminding me of everything from Dog Day Afternoon to Swordfish. Even the now inevitable twist failed to produce any surprises and I guessed literally EVERY aspect of the plot well before it happened. Jodie Foster's character also seemed pointless and Lee's trademark comments on contemporary racism seemed watered down for the mass market. Certainly not a bad film though, and if you just want to kick back with your brain in neutral, you could do a lot worse.
The whole plot smells fishy. It's not that the movie is hiding something, but that when it's revealed, it's been left sitting too long at room temperature. Inside Man goes to much difficulty to arrive at too little.
MCT:August 17, 2008
MCT:August 16, 2008
MCT:August 10, 2008
MCT:July 28, 2008
MCT:July 10, 2008
MCT:July 9, 2008
