Spike Lee, Meet Mr Mann - Mr Mann, Meet Mr Lee

Rating: 9/10 (21 April 2006)

So, we reach another pinnacle of being blessed with a Spike Lee film. 25th Hour, Clockers, Crooklyn, Malcolm X, Jungle Fever.... Honestly some of Spike's best work.
Inside Man... the film - the latest release that we are blessed to receive from the man who I hold in such high regard is a great film. We have here a clever script, a good story and some astonishing entrance-scene shots to a film I have seen in quite some time.
So what's all this hoo-haa about this being a Spike Lee Joint or not? So many people have been adamant that it isn't, but I have to dig the proverbial knife and twist it into those who think they know so much but rarely do produce the goods to show that they have knowledge of "Spike Lee Joints". This IS a "Spike Lee Joint" for two main reasons: 1. it was his work and 2. it was his WORK.
25th Hour was not a Spike Lee Joint as is everyone's perception of the phrase, but a lot of people certainly categorize it in such a way. What everyone considers a "Spike Lee Joint", I admit, has a slightly different look and feel to this all, but for a while now he has gone slightly more main-stream with his choice of topic.
But more to the film here: Denzel was good, Clive Owen was bland (purposefully), Jodie Foster was her usual charismatic self and Chiwetel Ejiofor was and is proving to be quite a force to be reckoned with. The bit-parts played by Christopher Plummer and Willem Dafoe were also a wonderful inclusion. The film had it all: Scenery, Great Acting, Great Camera-Shots and a great soundtrack.
What else do we want? We as cinema-goers want to be entertained. This certainly, hands-down did this. Best is to stop questioning what wasn't and focus on what is. This is a superb film and congratulations to all those who worked on it.