"My name is Dalton Russell...."

Rating: Null/10 (31 August 2006)

The Joe Cool Review: Inside Man(2006)
Starring: Denzel Washington as Detective Keith Frazier, Clive Owen as Dalton Russell, Jodie Foster as Madeline White, Christopher Plummer as Arthur Case, and Willem Dafoe as Captain John Darius
Plot: His name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what he says because he chooses his words carefully and never repeats himself. Recently he planned and set in motion events to execute the perfect bank robbery..why? Because he can. So now Detective Keith Frazier has to talk him into releasing the hostages, but there may be other matters involved that may hinder that process.
Openers: When I saw the casting and premise, I was very excited to see this movie. I'd been a fan of Denzel for several years, and in my mind he's one of the best actors around. Clive Owen I became a fan of after Sin City, and Willem Dafoe was awesome in Spiderman and The Boondock Saints. So I looked at this all-star cast, great trailer and expected to be blown away..was I? Read on...
The Good: For the most part, this was a perfect heist movie. There were plenty of twists and turns and while some of them were predictable, others weren't and so the suspense was still there. You sympathized with the bad guy as much as you did the police trying to bring him down. Maybe that's just because both Denzel and Clive do such a good job in their roles, but it was a solid ride throughout that had me eventually wanting both guys to come out okay. Clive Owen does a great job as the leader of the heist, his arrogance is just so great you can't help but like him. "I'm going walk out the front door of this bank." And in a supporting role, Willem Dafoe is the glue that holds this together. He doesn't do much in this role but he's good where he is. Christopher Plummer is good as the owner of the bank, Arthur Case.
The Bad: I noticed Spike Lee tried to comment on racism with this movie. I appreciate the effort Spike but it's really not needed here. Sure we know that middle-eastern looking people are subject to discrimination since 9/11 and we know that racism in general still exists. They just seemed like trivial segments that didn't actually go anywhere so they were just pointless. Also, as much as Jodie Foster is a good actress, her character was not needed here. Another pointless role. In the end she adds nothing to the overall story and doesn't detract from it either, she's just there.
The Ugly: Random reference to a PSP game(50 Cent's Bulletproof) had me cracking up unintentionally. Seriously, does 50 actually make his victims eat grenades in that game? Final Verdict: It has a few hiccups here and there but overall Inside Man is one of the year's top films. It's a great heist move and if you love movies like Heat you'll love this. With an all-star cast and great plot there's no reason you shouldn't check this out immediately.
Rating: ****1/2 of *****