save your money

Rating: 5/10 (3 April 2006)

If you think big-name actors "make" movies, then this one's for you. This movie SUCKS and I know I'm in the minority in saying that, as far as the comments here go. I went looking for good suspense and came away asking, "Was there even a point?". Denzel marches around like a good detective should but ultimately does nothing to solve the mystery, except interview some previously held hostages... who also, not coincidentally, add nothing but some different accounts of a robbery that doesn't even happen. Jodie Foster smiles a lot and perfects the Miss-know-it-all role, yet knows nothing more than Denzel except that which her boss, Christopher Plummer - the lone shining star in the film - reveals to her. (Denzel, of course, is tipped off by the bank robber himself... knowledge which ends up serving no purpose.) No one in the packed theater laughed more than five times, 3-4 of those being mere giggles. And the absence of laughter was not due so much to the presence of suspense as it was simply due to the complete LACK of it. One person I know was sleeping. The person in front of me had her head slumped over, resting on her knuckles. Twists? Yes, but they're minor. Oh and the movie has plenty of the f-bomb and G-d -- if these words are a regular part of your vernacular, then by all means spend the $8/8.50 or whatever and 2.5 hours to see this movie. Thinking people would be better off waiting for the DVD.