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INSIDE MAN A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
In Spike Lee's INSIDE MAN, Clive Owen and Denzel Washington engage in an energetic and entertaining battle of wits as a bank robber and the hostage negotiator who each try to be one step ahead of the other. The script has Washington on the losing end of the battle through most of the movie, but never count him out. In the enjoyment department both actors run neck and neck. They are clearly having a lot of fun making the movie, and their enjoyment is certainly infectious.
In the opening sequence, Dalton Russell (Owen) speaks directly to us, telling us to listen up since he chooses his words carefully and never repeats himself. Without bragging, he explains as clearly as he can that he is about to execute "the perfect bank robbery." After his team takes over the bank, he has everyone in the bank don the same masks and outfits that Russell and his team are wearing. This clever strategy leaves the cops completely confused as to who are the good guys and who are the bad. Russell's team has many other tricks in store for the police department as well.
The major twist in the story, which happens early and is included in the trailers, is that Jodie Foster, playing a professional fix-it person named Madeliene White, shows up to "protect certain interests." Basically there is something incriminating in the bank that someone does not want revealed. Why the person was so stupid as to save this thing rather than destroying it is one of the plot's few major holes.
Although everyone around Keith Frazier (Washington) figures that he is getting his clock cleaned by the smarter Russell, Frazier is coolly confident. He figures that, since both he and Russell are playing from the same play book, he can outwit his opponent.
The movie's momentum is periodically stopped with fast-forwards to after the robbery is over. These clips tell us stuff we would be better off not knowing, and the movie as a whole would be stronger if they were all removed.
Still, with the above exception, the film is nicely paced. Sharply written, the movie is consistently enjoyable and engaging. The only major flaw comes in a letdown at the end. Since the criminals are so smart, we think the screenwriter will come up with an ending that will really surprise us. As the clock counts down, the only question on the audience's mind is what exactly are the bank robbers really after. The answer turns out to be pretty standard and would fit right in with any other crime caper.
INSIDE MAN runs 2:08 but feels shorter. It is rated R for "language and some violent images" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, March 24, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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