Film Review
Inside Man
Dir. Spike LeeScr. Russell Gewirtz
Denzel Washington
Clive Owen
Jodie Foster
Official Site - www.insideman.net
Spike Lee and Denzel Washington?what could be better? Well throw in Clive Owen as a smart, calculating, bank robber and you have an unbeatable combination. Inside Man is definitely one of the smartest, thoughtful and enjoyable thrillers to come down the pike in a long time. Reminiscent of 70s bank heist films like Dog Day Afternoon, Inside Man positively sizzles with tension at times.
The story is pretty basic, a bank is robbed (Clive Owen), hostages are taken, a cop (Denzel Washington) is the on-duty hostage negotiator and so the story begins. But it turns out that this is not an ordinary bank robbery and this is not an ordinary bank heist movie.
The film is a reminder of just what a good director Spike Lee is?so much of his giftedness is lost in the uproar most of his movies generate because of their provocative tone. It goes without saying that Washington?s performance is impeccable?he is always solid and here he is as his usual heroic and compassionate self. Clive Owen is great.
It is hard to talk about the film without giving too much away and I wouldn?t want to spoil it?suffice to say that Inside Man is one of the best films of the year so far.
The story is pretty basic, a bank is robbed (Clive Owen), hostages are taken, a cop (Denzel Washington) is the on-duty hostage negotiator and so the story begins. But it turns out that this is not an ordinary bank robbery and this is not an ordinary bank heist movie.
The film is a reminder of just what a good director Spike Lee is?so much of his giftedness is lost in the uproar most of his movies generate because of their provocative tone. It goes without saying that Washington?s performance is impeccable?he is always solid and here he is as his usual heroic and compassionate self. Clive Owen is great.
It is hard to talk about the film without giving too much away and I wouldn?t want to spoil it?suffice to say that Inside Man is one of the best films of the year so far.