goes a little long not knowing when to end, but it is a genuinely clever crowd pleaser

Rating: 8/10 (27 March 2006)

Inside Man has the appeal of a slick, cool, not-too-old used car. You know certain things will definitely be there, but you also are hoping some things might be surprising. Spike Lee isn't doing an incredible subversion of the heist picture, particularly the bank-heist picture, but he is putting his mark on it, and this split between common Hollywood stylistics and a personal vision make it a fine little piece of studio film-making. There's also a story at work here, one that does develop the ensemble (mostly of hostages, and cops, and others), while also developing in a way that, at the least, isn't too boring. There may be a lot of elements going on in the film surrounding this bank robbery, and its questionable if the focus isn't on one thing the whole time. But if Lee can do one thing quite well, it's making sure the pieces fit, most of the time.
His cast is all top-notch, with his on/off again acting collaborator Denzel Washington in his smart, always interesting form as the hostage negotiator. He's up against Clive Owen's Don, head of a few really well-planned (he calls it the "perfect bank robbery") robbers, who've taken a heap of people hostage. Owen, to me, has one of his better performances, not an easy feat being under a mask and glasses through most of his role, but his voice (as usual deep and brooding in his English way) is dead-on and threatening. There's also Jodie Foster and Christopher Plummer as the 'special interests' looking out for something that happens to be in a certain safety deposit box. If I'm being a little vague then its for the purpose of the viewer; this isn't a twist that just comes out of nowhere, and it could be argued to not even be a real 'twist'.
One of the things that had me really attentive was knowing how the structure of the story would go after a while, the bits of general unpredictability of when a flash-forward (err, Denzel's interviews with the ex-hostages), and how it carried a similar lighting scheme to Lee's Clockers. It's a very good lighting set-up. And, like Scorsese with the Aviator, in this very prominent big-studio budget, Lee is able to put in little nods to the audience that this is still his 'joint'. Even if the screenwriter, Russel Gurwitz, doesn't have the focus always together, and after the climax there are a few too many exposition-type scenes, the last scene does give a nice grin to most in the audience. In fact, this is a terrific film to see in a packed theater, as I had the chance to have, as there are more than a few really funny moments interspersed with the more thrilling cat & mouse scenes. Inside Man plays on clichés in a way that reminds me of the Usual Suspects, and done in its own slick, used-car way that wont really break down, for most.