Solid heist thriller that drags on a bit too long

Rating: 8/10 (16 August 2006)

Solid heist thriller that puts a new spin on the familiar tale and does it very well. The first two thirds or so of the movie are fantastic, with the entire bank robbery very gripping and suspenseful. Unfortunately, the plot gets tangled up in motivations and the film spirals downward a bit near the end. Perhaps a bit overlong, but the real problem is overwriting - an entire subplot could have been scrapped with only a positive effect on the film. Still, it's a great flick, chocked full of humour, intelligence, and interesting characters.
The thing that separated this a bit from other heist thrillers was the Jodie Foster character, who was unfortunately underdeveloped and a bit of a waste. Her entire subplot with the Christopher Plummer character really seems out of place and poorly managed, and could have been much better had it been more properly woven into the story. The ending, which focuses primarily on this subplot, loses a lot of the momentum built up during the first two thirds, and just feels extraneous and drags the film on longer than it needed to be. That's my only large complaint; the rest of the film, by and large, is fantastic.
The performances really stand out, and seeing Clive Owen and Denzel Washington going mano a mano is a real treat. Both of them are excellent, and it's hard to pick a favourite of the two. Foster is good, but her character is not really interesting. Plummer is decent but unneeded, and both Dafoe and Washington's partner are quite good. The direction is solid, with several scenes really standing out, although the entire robbery sequence is shot extraordinarily well. The cutting back and forth between the standoff and the later interviews with the hostages is interesting, and makes for a more compelling story. The final twist is quite original and intriguing, though logic is stretched a bit to make it work. Still, overall, a solid film.