“Inside Man” (Universal Pictures)
Entertains But the Plot Is Holey, Holey, Holey!
Director Spike Lee and actor Denzel Washington have collaborated three times in the past. They are together again with “Inside Man,” a bank heist movie with a twist. Jodie Foster and Clive Owen are also featured in this film that is Lee’s most commercial to date. The movie entertains while you are watching it, but afterwards when you are replaying the plot you discover it is holey, holey, holey!
The film starts with four “painter/repairmen” entering a New York City bank. The leader of this group is Dalton Russell (Owen). The gang immediately lays siege to the bank and takes all the customers and workers as hostages. The police are notified and soon Detectives Keith Frazier and Bill Mitchell (Washington and Chiwetel Ejiofor) arrive on the scene. They will serve as the hostage negotiators.
Another arrival at the scene is Madeline White (Foster). She has been contacted by the bank owner, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), and asked to secure some important documents form the bank that are very valuable to him personally. Frazier doesn’t know exactly what to make of Ms White’s appearance at the scene of the crime, but she has the Mayor’s blessing so he lets her speak with Russell.
As the story progresses it appears that the whole bank robbery is not as cut and dried as it seems. There are a lot of agendas being operated and a lot of interests being explored. Frazier is on the outside but wants to become the “inside man.”
All of the actors are good in their roles. This includes the leads as well as Plummer, Ejoifor and Willem Dafoe. Because of their talent the movie is more engrossing than it otherwise would have been. Still there are moments when the action lags and the movie seems to be spinning its wheels. At these times Spike Lee gooses up the action with some comic lines of dialogue as well as his signature effects. This means he has Washington’s character at the forefront of the screen and moving forward while the rest of the scene stays virtually stationary in the backdrop.
Lee also uses sepia colors to film some of the interview sequences that appear out of the time line order in the movie. They are interspersed to show the confusion that reigns after the “robbery” is over.
The movie is rated R for profanity and violence.
“Inside Man” is a movie that is better in the viewing than in the remembering. Its plot holes weaken the overall effect of the movie and make it only an average one rather than Lee’s breakthrough film. There is a lot of talent on view but the screenplay lets all concerned down.
I scored “Inside Man” a locked in 5 out of 10.
