Crap!

Rating: 1/10 (21 July 2000)

At the beginning of this year something was seriously wrong with the majority of reviewers in the world. For some strange and obscure reason they all gave top marks to junk like this, American Beauty and Being John Malkovich. Although I understand why they did this for the latter there is no excuse and no denying that The Insider is quite possibly the most over-rated and over-hyped film ever that was unfortunate enough to be seen only by totally biased audience. Except me of course.
The story is about Jeff Wigand, who is fired from his job at a tobacco company and wants to do an interview with 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman. At first he does not want to do it but thanks to pressure increasingly mounted on him he decides to do it out of spite and retaliation it seems. You see the tobacco companies do not want Wigand to let the whole world know that cigarettes are addictive. But everyone knows that anyway so what's the big deal? It's hardly big screen material. It may make an 85-minute long TV movie but it certainly cannot stretch over 2 and a half hours even with the talents of Al Pacino and Russell Crowe to support it.
Let me just say that Heat was cool. Long, but still a very good film. I do admit that Michael Mann is a good director, but every director coughs up a severe dud once in a while. For Steven Spielberg there was Amistad and for Kubrick there was Eyes Wide Shut. Both of these films received excellent reviews for one reason only: the reputation of the director. This is why so many people lied to themselves that The Insider is a good film (snigger). No way!
Out of sheer respect to Michael Mann the whole world has given false review of this film but I'm about to give you the truth. The rest of mankind has been so brainwashed that The Insider is Oscar-worthy so they might try to hurt me for telling you this, but because I'm such a humanitarian I'm willing to risk it. THE INSIDER IS GARBAGE! There I said it.
A Shocking amount of characters appear for a few seconds or maybe even longer and then disappear for the whole movie without them even being introduced to us or at least telling us their purpose to the story. This makes a series of confusing and drama-free events even more blurred and low in any kind of narrative. Mann also goes as far to not even give us reasons for events taking place. Like those men in black suits who just enter Jeff Wigand's (Russell Crowe) home and take his hard drive. Who were they? Who sent them? Why didn't Wigand do anything about it? Like call the police or even tell Bergman (Pacino). This scene is embarrassing to watch because Wigand is such a wimp. He does nothing! If someone came into my home I wouldn't just let them take my computer without doing anything.
The only thing that is decent in this travesty is Dante Spinoti's widescreen photography, which is stunning. The scene with Bergman knee-deep in the ocean is a great example of wonderful cinematography. But that isn't enough. Sadly The Insider is as bloated as it is self-important and boring as it is confusing. A huge big mess. At the end you feel so bum-numbed and exhilarated that you just want to lie down. Maybe some people confused this sensation as the result of seeing a good movie. Which it certainly is NOT! Beware! 1/10.
Shawn Watson