When people heard Spike Lee intended to direct a bank robbery film they probably thought, "Spike's too good to be directing that stereotypical crap!" While the bank heist premise might be familiar, Lee takes the formula and turns the robber's motive into a moral crusade.
"Inside Man" is Denzel Washington and Spike Lee's most recent collaboration since "He Got Game" in 1998. Clean performances and directing are all that can be expected from them. Although the characters and plot are standard, they work as well as any A-listers out there.
Dalton Russel (Clive Owen of "Sin City," "Closer") has planned the perfect bank robbery. In a scene reminiscent of Sidney Poitier's "Uptown Saturday Night," the thieves force the bank patrons and employees to undress. Rather than just stealing their clothes and making sure they're unarmed, these robbers planned ahead with matching thief suits, complete with facemasks, hoods and glasses, for all the hostages.
Lee knows how to direct a fast-paced, suspenseful scene. Cuts come at quick intervals keeping a steady rhythm that is tense and suspenseful but doesn't nauseate the audience.
Russell Gewirtz makes his screenwriting debut with a plot that is interesting, full of comedy and snappy dialogue.
Dynamic heist scenes are inter-cut with flash-forward banter between detectives Frazier and Mitchell who interrogate the hostages once the dust settles. They heckle foreigners, confuse Armenians and Albanians, and even withhold a sheik's turban.
Most bank heist movies are pure entertainment, but "Inside Man" tries to incorporate a few not-so-subtle messages. While there are fewer political messages than many other Spike Lee films, he does sprinkle on a few social critiques.
In one scene, Dalton brings a slice of pizza and a bottle of water to a young boy playing videogames on a stack of money in the safe. While the boy eats, Dalton picks up the game and starts to play. The game appears to be a likeness of "Bulletproof" the 50 Cent videogame. The character shoots a pedestrian in a drive-by, then puts a grenade in the victim's mouth and blows up his head. While the shootout occurs, the words "Kill dat ni***" appear.
Lee is not a big fan of drugs, gangs, and violence glorified in videogames and music. He has been an outspoken proponent of these ideas, and many of his films carry evidence of that.
Willem Defoe is a great character actor, as usual. Only he can go from starring in "The Boondock Saints" as the eccentric detective, to the Green Goblin in "Spider-Man." This supporting role as a coordinating police officer was probably no challenge at all.
Jodie Foster has gotten out of the niche of playing hysterical mother leads and now falls into an expressionless supporting role. As an attach?(c) of powerful bank owner Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), Foster doesn't lend anything to the film nor impair it.
Plummer looks like he took up this project after being rejected for the part of Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings." He's a good typecast for the part of the old tycoon. He would make the perfect voice for Scrooge McDuck if they ever make a "Ducktales" movie.
The epilogue goes on about 20 minutes too long after the robbery situation has culminated. When a hostage is shot, Detective Frazier simply glides to the bank doors - a camera trick crafted by Lee - while everybody else runs or walks. An oddity like this, along with the '80s-influenced music makes it seem that Spike Lee is stuck in the past. Some viewers will enjoy the vintage style; others will probably find it corny.
