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Inside Man |
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By : Suzanne Philips |
Movie Reviews List | |
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INSIDE MAN Screenplay - Russell Gewirtz Directed by - Spike Lee (SHE HATE ME) Starring - Denzel Washington (Glory), Clive Owen (DERAILED), Jodie Foster (FLIGHTPLAN), Christopher Plummer (THE NEW WORLD) Rated R Running time 2 hours 9 minutes INSIDE MAN starts with a bank robbery that escalates to a hostage situation. Police Detective Keith Frazier (Washington) is sent in to negotiate. Head bank robber Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) is a cool customer who has thought out every aspect of the crime to perfection, but the one thing he didn't count on is Detective Frazier. Inside man is a well-directed, film noir type production. The script keeps you guessing throughout and the dialogue is well played and very well paced. Lee uses a gritty, dark, handheld type shot for scenes in the police station where all of the hostages are being interrogated to find out which ones of them pulled off the heist, and this is very effective and a nice addition to the film. All of the lead actors are quite good, with Jodie Foster as a real standout, playing a ruthless biotch, which is sort of against type for her. Spike Lee did a nice job with a screenplay which he did not write. Usually his films have a beat you over the head message with a racial agenda, but INSIDE MAN has very little of that. There are some racial slurs in the film, but really no different from what you would hear on the street in any metropolitan area. The film is good, but there is always a sense of urgency that doesn't quite pay off. The threat of the hostages getting hurt and the bank being out millions of dollars is actually shown to be quite small very early in the film. In so doing, the writer has destroyed any sense of urgency the film started with, and the rest of the film does tend to drag. The worst thing about this film is the horribly melodramatic musical score. It is so loud and so over the top that it ruins what could otherwise be good to great scenes. INSIDE MAN is an enjoyable film, not the best film out at this time, but the performances are good and I really enjoyed Spike Lee's direction. 2 1/2 out of 5 |
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