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It was the perfect bank robbery. A group of bank robbers dressed as painters enter the building, shut down the security cameras, and take the bank’s customers and employees hostage. They dress everyone in matching jumpsuits and masks—so no one can tell who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy. They lock the hostages in the bank’s offices, and they get to work. Every detail has been carefully planned—and it runs like clockwork.
The NYPD calls in Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) to handle the hostage negotiations—and, right from the start, he realizes that this isn’t just another bank robbery. For one thing, the man he’s dealing with (Clive Owen), seems especially calm—and he doesn’t seem to mind Frazier’s stalling for time. While Frazier and his man on the inside continue their game of cat and mouse, the bank’s chairman (Christopher Plummer) seems especially nervous about protecting what’s inside the building. The mayor has also taken personal interest in the robbery—and a mysterious woman named Madeline White (Jodie Foster) has been sent in to do some negotiating of her own. There’s more than just the obvious going on in that bank, and Frazier is determined to figure out what it is.
Inside Man is one of those movies that grabs you by the throat from the very beginning and just won’t let you go. Not only is it thrilling and suspenseful, but it’s just plain brilliant. The story has just the right number of twists and unknowns thrown in to keep you guessing—without being so confusing that you’ll just give up. Interspersed throughout the main action, Lee injects interrogation scenes with the released hostages. Though some may find it distracting, I loved the effect. It makes you realize just how brilliant the robbers were—how their plan was so well executed that the detectives can’t figure out who’s the criminal and who’s the victim. It’ll move you a little closer to the edge of your seat and make you pay even more attention to the tricks the bank robbers play. And, in the end, while there are a few questions left unanswered, they’re not nearly enough to put a damper on the adventure.
While this isn’t the kind of movie that you’d expect to be directed by Spike Lee, his touches only add to it and give it extra flair—and there are plenty of moments when he makes his presence known. On top of that, the casting couldn’t have been better. Owen and Washington are two of Hollywood’s finest—and while the pairing is unexpected, Owen’s smooth criminal works perfectly with Washington’s cool, likeable cop.
Inside Man is a thrilling journey that will make you sit up and pay attention—and, with just the right amount of subtle humor occasionally thrown in to break up the action, it’s just plain fun to watch.
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