Inside The Inside Man

Rating: 1/10 (27 August 2006)

Ed Note: Before I begin let me say that I have always been a big Spike Lee fan. No I have never sat through an entire viewing of "Do the Right Thing", have never watched "Crooklyn" from beginning to end or some of his other works; some of which have been praised and lambasted in equal or unequal doses. So what is it about this guy and films like "X"," He Got Game", and "Get On The Bus" that make me respect and admire him so? Could it be a small time movie maker fighting the good fight against the big boy Hollywood studio? Or is it that he, Mr. Lee, dares tread where so few artists seem to go in any genre; tackling primarily the issues of race and poverty. When I read in the paper that Mr. Lee had gone mainstream with his film "The Inside Man", and that mostly critics were raving, I was more than a little intrigued. This is what I found Inside:
Inside Man starring Clive Owen, Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster is described as a bank robbery caper. The film opens with a Clive Owen monologue that the viewer is supposed to pay strict attention to.
Next up is two NYPD detectives (Washington and Co.) who appear to be more in line with some of Mr. Lee's more memorable characters in his previous films, in other words, losers. Hey but wait a minute, these two black cops get handed a big case and Washington is in charge. An African-American detective is going to break the case and we're all going to go home happy right? Not exactly, super intelligent criminal mastermind Owen is going to embarrass the NYPD while trading some very believable dialogue with Washington, while super intelligent, connected, affluent, (did I mention attractive?) power broker Jodie Foster really takes care of the grown ups work.
Wonderful elements of this film include a certain absence of over the top violence and objectionable language, despite some sexual language and adult themes. And what Spike Lee film would be complete without his signature cameo,his black and white elements, and his interviewing the main characters in some context, in this case the bank robbery hostages after the fact. Oh and of course we must not forget the trademark ethnic discrimination scenes of a Spike Lee movie; the cop who mentions the word spic but notoriously uses the word African American, the poor Middle Easterner who gets treated like an Arab terrorist for being in the bank etc., all this I expect from Spike Lee, good or evil.
One thing about Spike Lee films though, they usually are cohesive, with a beginning, middle and end that are believable on some level. If this is Spike Lee mainstream then I refuse to swim.
Forget that Mr. Owen is the smartest man in the room; we still don't know why he targeted this bank, or this man(Chirstopher Plummer), unless he has personal or professional involvement with the bank's chairman. The only other thing that makes sense is Owen is on some social crusade, and if he is, as he reminds us in the movie, "then the money shouldn't matter" (Please!!!).
Next up is the super suave Ms. Foster, not only can she make mayors and judges do her bidding, she can promise Washington a promotion if he just knows his place.
Throw this wonderful cast together in a stew where we the viewers are asked to believe that one of the most influential banks in New York is not wired well enough to know a man is living INSIDE, without water, air and decent plumbing, I think I'll stay OUTSIDE the mainstream just for a little while longer thanks