Talk:Inside Man

message: As I read the comments below, perhaps https://numeroscop.net/angel-numbers/392-angel-number.html  will clarify how the robbers guessed where the documents were hidden.  
Saw this film at a preview last night in London and was severly underwhelmed.  Both Brits do terrible American accents, Jodie Foster (and her role) are wasted in this and I'm sire I've seen this type of escape done before: it's not dissimilar to the ending of Escape To Victory.  The ending is schmaltzy, no-one really gets to act and there are plot holes a mile wide.  Look away now if you want to know no more BUT...how did anyone, least of all the bank robbers, get to know about the workings of the bank, Arthur Case's document and it's precise location (down to a deposit box which doesn't appear on the manifest) and the secret behind the ring?  This film either deserves a prequel or avoiding.
Warning, Spoiler ahead:
About The One Ring (sry): It belonged to a Jewish friend of said "elderly CEO". He explains to Frazier that he could've saved him from the Konzentrationslager but the Nazies paid too much. Judging from the reaction of the other elderly guy in the black car at the end, I guess he is of that Jewish family and would know about the ring. As to how they know the ring was in that specific deposit box... I don't think it really matter as to how and where they got their information...
Is the inclusion of the iPod really relevant? I think that should be deleted.
: A possible explanation regarding the ring: they did not knew exactly what was in the box except for the document and the diamonds; the ring was discovered after the box was opened by Russell, and the discovery was relayed to the Jewish guy who was part of the team.--IceCube 04:03, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: "Both Brits do terrible American accents" - presumably you mean Clive Owen and who is the other Brit ? Clive Owen's character never claims to be American, that's your assumption. How do you know he is not a war crimes investigator/vigilante/relative come to get revenge on behalf of a distant relation ? You say that the movie has plot holes and should be avoided because it doesn't explain every detail - some of us have imagination and can come up with plausible reasons for insignificant details. For goodness sake, how does Darth Vader brush his teeth ? - someone must make a prequel to explain that. 86.25.245.97 (talk) 22:22, 13 April 2011 (UTC)
thread_title: Review/Comment

message: How did Dalton Russel know a safety deposit box had things incriminating the bank executive?  If someone knows, can we add this to the plot synopsis? --Phantom784 17:41, 26 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Safety Deposit Box 

message: Chensiyuan 19:58, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Synopsis section needs to be better written 

message: Can I ask why you thought the psp game was meant to be GTA?  I'm not debating the fact, but when I saw the movie I immediately thought of the 50 Cent game, "Bulletproof", which had similar gameplay and drew some attention because of its outrageous violence.  This assumption seemed to be reinforced in the movie, because after Russel asks the kid about the point of the game, he replies, "It's like 50 says, 'Get rich or die trying'".
Anyway, it's not a big deal, and as I have not played GTA: LCS or Bulletproof, I can't say one way or another. Joeytsai 01:02, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I believe it should be GTA, as GTA is the one with the controversies over extensive violence (remember Jack Thompson?). Anyhow it doesn't really matter either way. --TBC???  ??? ??? 05:48, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

text: The child was probably too young to know that, and usually parents don't know too much about the systems which their children use. (Ex: that he was actually playing "Bulletproof" or "GTA" or whatever, when most parents of 9 3/4 year old children who monitor what their kids play wouldn't allow it to happen. Crisco 1492 05:42, 24 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: PSP videogame

message: Re: the tank top thing... I'm not great with remembering details, so I could be wrong about this, but wasn't the girl with the tank top one of the robbers, not a hostage? It was probably a hint, not a plot hole. --Ryon 03:26, 5 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: As I remember, there were two characters with tank tops, one was a hostage, the other was one of the robbers --TBC???  ??? ??? 05:44, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

text: First of all, they were "hearing aids", not headphones.  Second, I don't think that title actually meant an inside man that way, it may just be that Clive Owen stayed inside the building the whole time or something. -- Cbrown1023 02:58, 3 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Plot Fault" 

message: The one bit of this film that I didn't understand is: Why would the guy that helped out the Nazis keep a documented note of it saying "this man helped out the Nazis"? I mean, he should've thrown it in a fire and destroyed it years ago if he wanted to hide a secret. What an idiot! Maybe this question would be better posed at the IMDB. --Dangherous 11:00, 7 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Maybe he wanted proof if he was ever arrested as a war criminal ( I did this but not this, this or this... ) , maybee he couldnt throw it away due to guilt or maybe he was simply pround of what he had done. 91.128.113.90 (talk) 11:45, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

text: If you recall the first scene where he is told that branch is being robbed, it takes him a few seconds to react - perhaps he simply forgot about it ?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.25.245.97 (talk) 22:25, 13 April 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Why o why? 

message: This movie plot sounds alot lke what it says at http://imdb.com/title/tt0454848/plotsummary
Plot Spoiler
IMDB
""Inside Man" is the story of a tough cop, Detective Frazier (Denzel Washington), who matches wits with a clever bank robber, Dalton (Clive Owen). As the dangerous cat-and-mouse game unfolds, a wild card emerges: Madaline (Jodie Foster), a power broker with a hidden agenda, who injects even more instability into an already volatile situation."
Wikipedia
"Inside Man is the story of detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) who matches wits with a clever bank robber Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) in a tense hostage drama. As the dangerous cat-and-mouse game unfolds, a wild card emerges: a power broker Madeline White (Jodie Foster) with a hidden agenda injects more instability into an already volatile situation."
Who's copying from whom?
24.237.198.91 11:35, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Maybe no one's copying, they could be written by the same author.  Also, if no one says who copied who, it doesn't matter and the plot may have changed already. -- Cbrown1023 03:03, 3 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Plagiarisation 

message: Diamonds!  Diamonds beyond your wildest dreams!  Seriously though, the article states that no actual robbery occurred.  However, there were diamonds in the safe deposit box, and some suggestion that the robber took one or more of them: the narrator-robber, near the end of the movie, states that he 'did it for the money.'  Was this wealth to come from diamonds he stole, or from blackmail based on the documents?  White also alluded to the burglar's intention to steal something else, saying that the robber doesn't plan on 'keeping [the documents] under his matress.'
So, did a robbery occur after all? Alksub 10:09, 9 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  The diamonds 

message: That is not what the character Madeline White said to the character Arthur Case, she said (it's at around 1:50:25 in the movie) "we have listed you as a reference" - to show to Bin Ladens nephew that White's influence/power-broking/dealings has no moral limits to work with contemporary, american "worst enemy". "We've listed you as his reference" would'nt make sense; why should I've referenced a friend of mine to get a job done? White also did not say it to enrage Case, she said it to show-case that for the right price, White is willing to do anything, and that Case' own past actions in known human history in WorldWar2 furthered White to deal successfully w. Bin Laden's nephew.
I changed the quote correctly Archangel Michael 11:35, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  "''We've listed you as his reference''" 

message: The Jewish guy in the car at the end was behind everything (see first discussion topic). This is not mentioned at all! —☆ CieloEstrellado 08:41, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The Jewish guy is just another accomplice that just so happened to be in the bank before the crime occured.  Technically, all the accomplices (not Clive Owen), were unknown because they kept switching the rooms of random hostages, so that way, all the hostages saw everyone once. -- Cbrown1023 03:07, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

text: However, it is possible the Rabbi may have been the 'Inside Man', because 1) he knew all the bank employees, and 2) was an older Rabbi and possibly related to the Jewish family, who thus may have presumably had a special reason to be interested in 'hunting' war criminals from the Nazi era. It is thus possible that the Rabbi was actually the person who did the original research, finding this bank, and discovering the undocumented safety deposit box. Especially as he asks specifically about the missing ring. Aaronwinborn 17:13, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: He says in the movie that he lectures on issues including "war reparations."  He doesn't need a first hand knowledge of the ring or documents.  It could be something he uncovered in the course of his research. Mykll42 (talk) 06:01, 27 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Major plot element missing

message: IMO, the synopsis needs a great deal of work. The first three sentences spoil the entire film. Shouldn't a synopsis have those built into the text itself, rather than keep them in an introductory sentence? I'm going to attempt a slight rewrite on that section. HelloAnnyong 17:25, 3 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Synopsis and spoiler markers? 

message: At the end of the cultural references section, the last one says that there are numerous references at the end of the movie.....But not much is explained 71.119.251.100 21:53, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cultural references section 

message: I added this piece at the Trivia: The fake recording that the bank robbers were playing is indeed part of a speech from Enver Hoxha, deceased dictator of Albania; however the Albanian girl has a very thick Slavic accent while speaking, therefore impossible to be an Albanian
I assume that is has to be there, that's why i did put it in, however if anyone think it has to go somewhere else, suggestions are welcome.Illuminati 19:28, 8 December 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: She is neither Albanian nor Slavic. According to her official website, she is Romanian. http://www.florinapetcu.com/resume.html  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Axeman (talk • contribs) 00:07, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Trivia Section 

message: I think it is worth noting the many references and homages too the film Dog Day Afternoon
two of the same actors are used Lionel Pina delivered the pizza in both movies. Marcia Jean Kurtz plays a hostage named
Miriam in both films, these two can not be coincidental it had to have been a deliberate choice by spike lee. Not to mention the direct quote from Denzel Washington's character "No one gets a plane. You saw 'Dog Day Afternoon.' You're stalling."
There are probably even more things that I missed, but I think it is worth noting.
(Thefirstterm (talk) 02:53, 27 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Dog Day Afternoon 

message: On the pizza boxes given by the police to the robbers has "Sal's Famous Pizzeria" printed on them (atleast the ones that are visible). This is an illusion to Do the right thing, another Spike Lee film. Should it be mentioned anywhere?
143.195.170.90 (talk) 04:36, 5 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pizza Boxes 

message: Does anyone who made a famous statement that it is your own intelligence that forms the cell for you and furthermore it is a cell which we cannot escape. Unfortuntaly, I can't remember who made this statement and I didn't understand it, when I first read it, but the longer I think about is the more meaning it gains. Thank you for looking, if there is a volunteer.Sha-Sanio (talk) 19:08, 18 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Cell

message: * For the first time an afro-amercian shots a film like hitchkock had done some. Fabolous! This Spike Lee, from yesterday to 2006 he did little dirty films, telling dirty stories and suddenly a filmakers hand grows.
He was kissed by a rose... and so to say it#s somehow a buddhist fabel. That means public should learn something by looking at films. A robbery, who hasn#t real took place is visible in fantastic light and camera angles. A circle of development was broken up
and he starts in a new dimension. Me lent!--Danaide (talk) 14:28, 31 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  ''A Fabolous Thriller'' 

message: Spike Lee's point has been entirely missed by all posters.  Blacks do care about the Holocaust!  That point was very eloquently put forward without one character having to say it.  By the way, the bank chairman said that he performed philanthropy to make up for his Nazi ways, but he was the real villain of the movie.  No amount of apologetics can wipe that away.
But even more poignantly, the smile on the African-American detective's face upon discovering the reward he had been *given* demonstrated the need that we all share to be accepted and acknowledged.  The Jewish man gave the African-American man what was tantamount to reparations that are normally reserved in that case to heirs of the Holocaust, and the detective felt a sense of belonging because of that gift.
I want to give acknowledgement to my wife, Barbara EBj for her deep insight into the true message and meaning behind this remarkable film.
Dhjohns (talk) 23:01, 5 October 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Main Point of Film missed 

message: It should be noted somewhere in the synopsis that the robbers were using fake weapons the entire time, as revealed near the end. 76.107.217.221 (talk) 02:57, 1 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Fake weapons 

message: Can someone please mention the mising money ($140K) from the check casing place that Frazier was being investigated for? I don't have the time to work it out...vulture19 01:47, 9 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  No mention of the the investigation into Frazier 

message: The cited bad review (currently #46), titled "Slicker Spike Breaks the Bank | Observer", is incredibly inaccurate to the extent that I think it is a poor example of a bad review. I just watched this movie and despite liking it, I wanted to see and read any bad reviews. I read the review in full and the concrete examples the author gives as problems with the movie are factually wrong and easily verified as such. It seems like the author of the review merely skimmed the movie rather than watching it (speculation: perhaps to meet a deadline?). I think it's good to cite bad reviews, but this one is so error riddled, I think it should be removed or replaced. 
Some errors:
* "all [the main robber] wants is one safety deposit-box with no number"
the box clearly has a number
* "When did he find the time to dig a hole into the sewer system..."
the movie clearly establishes that this is the only thing the robbers did during their time other than shuffle hostages around and raid the aforementioned safety deposit box
* "What happened to Denzel Washington’s expulsion from the NYPD?"
this is clearly dealt with at the end of the movie
* "why does he steal a diamond ring so valuable it could pay off the national debt?"
he never steals the ring
* "When he shows it to the cowering Christopher Plummer, why is it no longer a ring?"
it's clearly slipped over his middle finger in the movie while he flips off Arthur Case.
* "Did he steal two diamonds?"
no
* "What happened to the bank robbers?"
they pick up Clive Owen's character at the end as he leaves the bank
* "Why do they just disappear from the movie?"
they don't
* "it’s never clear what they wanted in the first place."
it's clear that the whole robbery was about stealing diamonds from Arthur Case while collecting the evidence needed to prove he worked with the Nazis.
Sr105 (talk) 22:58, 29 April 2014 (UTC)
replies: text: My understanding was that they stole several diamonds but left the big one, on the Cartier ring, behind, so as to cast suspicion on Case. When Russell (Clive Owen) leaves the bank, he slips one of the stolen diamonds into Frazier's pocket, to use for proposing to his girlfriend. So there were stolen diamonds stolen; the Cartier one wasn't; and one of the stolen ones was "returned" to Frazier. SchnitteUK (talk) 19:12, 21 June 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  One of the negative reviews cited is highly inaccurate 

message: I need some help.  Trying to figure something out, but I can't.  Hugely disjointed after watching one of my favorite movies again this weekend, Inside Man, and finding a gaping hole in the plot.  Can you tell me if I'm missing something?  Dude's in a hole for a week.  The day he comes out, Denzel finds the ring, a note, and some gum in box 392.  Here's my question: how come Nazi bank villain didn't go check his precious safety deposit box FOR A WHOLE WEEK??  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:306:3AEE:EE10:8503:7AF5:95A3:ACAB (talk) 08:56, 31 March 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: That can be explained. Case thought it would draw attention (at least of his employees) if he went to check on the mysterious unrecorded deposit box shortly after the robbery. His plan was to wait a while and check it then, when this wouldn't be linked to the robbery. SchnitteUK (talk) 19:14, 21 June 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Box 392 ignored for a week? 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

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message: The safety deposit box was opened by a locksmith for Russell.  Where did he come from?  Where did he go?  Vanished into thin air.  He was Caucasian male in 40’s, over-weight, and about 5’6”. Trooper63 (talk) 20:39, 3 June 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  The locksmith?