This is a far better film than the critics led me to believe

Rating: 9/10 (26 August 2006)

I saw this film last week and except for a minor quibble that I'll describe later, I've been thinking about what a travesty it was it wasn't highly praised during its theatrical release. Bank robbery is an old topic in the movies and the stories have been told from almost every perspective, but Spike Lee's treatment here seems new and fresh. There's a little bit of disappointment in store for you near the end but by then, for me at least, Mr. Lee had earned the benefit of the doubt. I particularly loved his capture of every element of the crime. There are no leaps ahead in the narrative that require you to puzzle what was left out. Foster, Plummer, Owen and Washington all show why they're paid the big bucks. They all bring depth of character and easy believability to their roles without making their characters worn out reruns.
I don't doubt Russell Gewirtz deserves a lot of the credit for his screenplay, but Lee was right there with the goods to make it shine. For my money this is Lee's most entertaining film and though there was an annoying repetitive reference to an Hispanic police officer who mostly was a disembodied voice through much of the movie, I probably wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't had the subtitles for the hearing impaired on. (I don't appreciate missing clues.) This is a wonderful film and I hope Spike is willing to explore another highly commercial movie in the future. It's easy to see why he managed to assemble such a stellar cast.