Inside Man (R)
Mike:
Scott:
Scott: Tonight we are reviewing Inside Man
, a movie about the perfect bank robbery. Only this isn't your normal bank robbery, something is different, but you aren't sure what.
What did you think Mike?
Mike: We have a winner. I think this is the first 'Good' movie we have seen this year. This movie lived up to my expectations considering the director, Spike Lee, and the stellar cast. And you?
Scott: It starred Denzel Washington as negotiator Keith Frazier (with a Z) and like most Denzel movies, I wasn't disappointed.
Mike: I love Denzel, but he's let me down a few times lately. Out of Time and John Q come to mind.
Scott: You reminded me that it was done by Lee; it had a different feel than his other movies, smoother, more polished.
Mike: Probably his most commercial movie yet.
Race was an issue in this movie, but not 'The' issue.
Scott: I don't think race played enough of an issue to even bring it up. It was barely mentioned.
Mike: Race issues were more subtle. The way the Sikh was treated. The cop's story about being shot, etc.
Scott: I think you are calling out those scenes because it was Lee, if it was another director, those scenes would have been just more background noise.
Mike: No, I think he was deliberately pointing out the racism of everyday life in New York. I probably noticed it more from recently having seen Crash.
Scott: The lighting was great, sound was clear, shots were normal; it was a very well done movie.
Mike: The directing and cinematography were spot on.
I thought the acting was great, even from the supporting cast.
Scott: It really had a few leads and the rest were supporting actors in this. The action centered around the main bank robber, Dalton Russell (Clive Owen), the negotiators Frazier and Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and Captain Darius (Willem Dafoe). Everyone else was a bit player. Even Jodie Foster's character Madeliene White.
Mike: Don't forget Christopher Plummer as the founder of the bank.
Scott: And Foster's character had a smaller role than I would have thought looking at the trailer and credits.
Mike:This movie tries to be the next Usual Suspects and almost succeeds. That being said, I think it is very entertaining and it keeps you guessing. Those are my favorite kind of movies.
The story kept me engaged and I was surprised to see that this was writer Russell Gerwitz's first movie.
Scott: It was very well paced. I liked the flow throughout. It even managed to keep the pace at the end, where most movies speed up as if in a rush to finish.
Mike: I liked the detail shown of the bank robbery from both the point of view of the robbers and also from the cops.
Scott: I didn't like how they inserted scenes from the future, as well as hypothetical scenes, into the movie. The scenes sometimes slowed down the progression of the movie. They took you out of your trance.
Mike: I disagree. I think that made it way more interesting than if we had to sit through the interrogation scenes after the robbery was over.
Scott: Ok, well, I did I like some of them, but at times it hurt the flow.
Mike: The movie is clever in several ways, especially trying to figure out what the robbery is really about. The robbers act as if they have all the time in the world. The audience, just like Detective Frazier, wonders what is really going on. It was fun to watch Frazier and Russell play a grand game of Cat and Mouse. They both seem pretty evenly matched. It makes you hope there really are New York detectives as clever as this.
Scott: The audience is given the puzzle pieces, as the detective was, and you try to solve the puzzle along with the detectives. The characters realize there is more going on right at the same time you do.
Mike: As always let me bring up the soundtrack.
The first piece of music is a bit jarring, but oddly enough the rest of the score sounds like it could have come from a James Bond film. All in all it fit pretty well.
Scott: I forgot to listen out for it. I was engrossed in the film and never really listened to the score
Mike: Maybe one day, I'll have you trained to notice the music.
Scott: I did hear the ring tone on the cell phone early in the movie and that was funny.
Mike: That also reminds me that the beginning credits were noteworthy; because they were done in a way that made you read them. Readers, see if you think the same thing when you see them.
Scott: I don't remember the opening credits. How were they done?
Mike: I guess you are going to have to watch it again. It's hard to describe.
Scott: Disclaimer: To all of the readers, I have been sick for 10 days and am currently jacked up on meds. I may not have seen the movie they way I normally would.
Mike: So, what's different about that again?
Scott: Er, about 3 less brain cells, so that makes 10 total.
Mike: Enough ribbing. What do you rate it?
Scott: Overall, I give it a 3.5. For a crime drama, I give it a 4. It was very well done.
And you?
Mike: I give it 4 stars as overall and 4 stars as a crime drama/thriller.
Scott: Put out the dog and get Inside and watch this movie.
