A great detective fiction

Rating: 10/10 (29 March 2006)

People you are rating this movie low are the problem with the average movie going public these days. Throw a few explosions at them, and some whacked out main character that solves his problems with fists and they rate it a ten. And you get extra points for CGI it seems.
This movie was great! It reminds me of some of the old detective fictions that were made in the 30's and 40's like the Maltese Falcon, and then later on in the 70's Chinatown. No, Denzel didn't use a gun and blow stuff up ever chance he got, but he was intelligent and methodical in solving the case. It was actually quite nice to see Denzel finally step out of his role as the 'angry black man' and do something different. Until this point, I was convinced he was quite one dimensional.
This movie moved us through the 3 stages of a detective fiction very fluidly. It also managed to do it in a modern context. While using all the new tricks of film and the technology that we have developed, the film still adhering to the classic detective fiction motif.
The filming was excellent, and the director managed to get tons of great shots in that helped to set the tone for the movie. The closeups on the characters, the rackish angles that cause uneasiness, and the double focuses helped to present us with a story and feeling that is really unsurpassed by just about anything that has come out this year. AND BEST OF ALL IT IS AN ORIGINAL MOVIE, NOT A Sequel, A COMIC BOOK, OR A REDO! Thank you Spike Lee for doing something real and different!