Great Acting Highlights This Heist Flick

Rating: 8/10 (4 December 2006)

Here's another heist-with a negotiator story but done with a different angle and with a few twists. Among the "twists" are (1) a bank president who hires someone to try to get something NOT robbed out of his band during the heist, evidence that could destroy his status and career, and (2) the crooks all get away with the mastermind of group hiding in the bank for a week before slipping away in broad daylight. That last part leads me to ask a few questions about that could possibly happen, specifically how get could get out of the vault where he was hidden without all kinds of alarms going off, etc.
Nevertheless, credibility-aside, its an interesting two hours of entertainment, sort of a modern-day Dog Day Afternoon film. (In fact, DDA is mentioned in the movie.)
The four lead actors in this film are all quite diverse: a veteran cop.negotiator ("Det. Keith Frazier" (Denzel Washington), the main crook "Dalton Russell" (Clive Owen), the bank president "Arthur Case" (Christopher Plummer) and the professional business woman he hires "Madeline White" (Jodie Foster.) All of them are fascinating, thanks in large part to the fact they are all outstanding actors to begin with. Unlike most people, I particularly enjoyed Foster playing such a controlled, low-key character and the same could be said about another top actor in here I almost forgot about: Willem DaFoe as "Captain John Darius."
The more I think about it, the actors here are just as fascinating as the story, if not more so. I am sure it will be them, not the story, that drives me back for more viewings.