Lee's mainstream effort leaves something to be desired

Rating: 6/10 (5 September 2006)

Considering director Spike Lee's usual, more provocative and heated material, Inside Man, a more conventional suspense thriller seemed a bit of a change of form. Therefore, one would expect the director to have something clever up his sleeve, something genuinely different or shocking, a reason why he would accept a project so seemingly mundane and ordinary. It's likely that assumption that particularly drew viewers to see Inside Man, in short to see the trick Lee had up his proverbial sleeve, the huge twist or execution that would make Inside Man stand out enough to have the director depart from his usual material to accept it.
Unfortunately enough, though such a clever twist may seem inherent throughout the film's course, it never really surfaces, leaving us as an audience constantly wanting more, hoping something more interesting and genuinely shocking and throughout provoking might turn up. Needless to say, this never really happens, and as such, Inside Man culminates as nothing more than a watered down run of the mill suspense thriller filled with plot holes and the occasional clever part. The first twist in the "huge double-twist ending" becomes so obvious early on in the story that when it surfaces in a crescendo of dramatic music, it doesn't come as surprising at all. The second twist may pose a bit more of a surprise, and may take a bit of thought, but still... one would expect better.
And even for those who did not predict either twist early on,there's still the apathy factor. There's a constant sense of "so what?" throughout the story, as if the audience starts to question each new occurrence or event throughout the story, half-heartedly hoping that it will somehow lead to a sudden twist one would have to be carefully following to catch. In actuality, when it becomes more and more apparent this isn't going to happen, our minds start to wander and wonder why so much detail is paid to tiny, near insignificant details, or oddball occurrences, such as the constantly resurfacing Indian music, again with no plausible reason or explanation. Quite simply, the film is lacking a spark, a punch, to make the material really hit home and become relevant, or even watchable to us, the viewers. As it is, Lee loses control of us, and instead of being drawn into the half-hearted suspense, we simply wonder what is the point.
Denzel Washington is easily the best aspect of the movie, his charismatic, joking, easygoing yet intelligent hostage negotiator is a truly amicable lead, the kind of quality absent from the rest of the film. Clive Owen makes a good enough antagonistic figure as the chief bank robber, but his "calm but calculating" side which is meant to make his character seem truly menacing in the end just makes him seem too docile to pose much of an actual threat. Jodie Foster has very little to do in a tiny little role as a mysterious financial adviser sent to speak with Owen's character regarding more under the table matters. She has such a little effect on the story however, that one wonders why her character was included in the story at all, and not just more incorporated into another character. Similarly, the excellent Willem Dafoe is given absolutely nothing to do as a police captain, and it seems such a waste to give such a talented actor such a mundane and devoid of personality role. Christopher Plummer however is a strong presence as the owner of the bank in process of being robbed, who may or may not know more about it than it seems.
All in all, Inside Man manages to pass itself off as an intelligent and tense thriller through trailers and publicity, but in the end is nothing special in the least - just another watered down, suspense thriller where the suspense is next to non- existent. There may be the occasional clever or quirky touch, but the inevitable racial component to the story (a particularly memorable scene recalls a bank clerk putting up a huge argument after his turban is removed by the police) is so predictable and out of place it simply raises a groan. Washington may make an excellent lead, but he is the high point in a movie which ultimately comes across as uninspired and uninteresting attempt at breeding tension and suspense. It's not a good sign for a movie's quality and content when the words which come to mind the most are "so what?". Such is the case for Inside Man - those not fans of Spike Lee or any of the stars might want to give this one a pass for a more intelligent and engaging thriller.
-6/10