The Heist of the Century

Rating: 10/10 (13 November 2012)

I have always had a soft spot for a good heist movie. So as soon as I saw the trailer for Inside Man, I was immediately hooked. Inside Man is an amazing film, and this was accomplished by the extraordinary opening scene, the unique way the story is told, as well as the great acting.
The plot is very thrilling and is sure to keep you hooked. Inside Man is a heist movie, which follows Dalton Russell and his crew as they attempt to rob a New York bank with several hostages. However the movie also follows the perspective of the hostage negotiator and man in charge, Detective Keith Frazier. The movie begins with Dalton Russell, narrating to the audience how he recently planned and put into motion the perfect bank robbery. After the introduction ends the movie quickly gets the plot rolling by jumping straight into the moment Dalton Russell and his crew takes over the bank. It's a constant game of cat and mouse as Detective Frazier tries to catch the bank robbers. Which may not be as easy as he first intended as Dalton Russell makes sure to make it difficult.
The opening scene of Inside Man is quite brief, however is sure to have the audience hooked within minutes. As Inside Man begins, Dalton Russell begins speaking directly to the audience. Briefly introducing the key elements of the plot being the who, what, where, and when, leaving only the how and why unanswered. Throughout this scene although introducing the plot, the mystery created by his speech gets the audience's brains to begin naturally asking questions and more importantly wanting answers.
This is merely what sparks the audience's interest, and one of the major factors which continues to make this film great is the unique method it uses to tell the story. Rather than simply telling the story straight through with an established back story early on and possibly a flashback here or there, Inside Man does something somewhat different. Inside Man continuously transitions between two separate times. Half the time Inside Man following Dalton Russell as he robs the bank and Detective Frazier as he attempt to rescue the hostages. The other half of the time is spent further down the road as Detective Frazier and his partner attempt to put the events of the bank robbery together as they question all those held hostage.
The acting in Inside Man is also quite phenomenal. The main character, Dalton Russell, is played by Clive Owen. Clive Owen nailed every single part of his role in this movie, from when portrays the intelligent Dalton who is very precise and calm, to the parts where Dalton gets a bit short tempered and snappy. Denzel Washington, who played the role of Detective Frazier, does an impeccable job of portraying his role as well. He really captures the role of being the detective who is very strong willed and passionate about his job; Always going above and beyond the expectations to get to the truth. As far as big name actors go, Inside Man also contains Jodie Foster as the strong willed Madeleine White, as well as Willem Dafoe as the police captain, Darius.
These big names however should not completely over shadow the supporting actors, as they are just as important. Their flawless job of capturing the people who live their everyday lives in New York City, is what truly brings the setting to life and pulls you into being right there in New York City.
Overall Inside Man is an exceptional movie and is definitely worth watching. If you're one who enjoys a great heist movie, Inside Man will surely make its way into your collection.