"Buses, Kojak, or I'll give you two of the longest days of your life."

It seems like there’s been a bit of a dry spell lately in terms of really incredible movies. Now I know that a number of big blockbusters premiered this year (Pirates of the Caribbean, Superman Returns, X3, etc) but it still feels like it’s been a really long time since we’ve been given another Usual Suspects or Fight Club type of movie. You know, the kind of movie that really gets you thinking and messes with your head. The kind of movie that finishes with you going “Wow…what just happened? That was AWESOME!” I was hoping to have that kind of experience with Inside Man, and I’m glad to say that I did…almost.

Inside Man starts off like some of the best ‘mind-bending’ movies I’ve seen. Clive Owen opens the film with a simply monologue to the audience. “My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and never repeat myself.” He goes on to inform the audience about the perfect bank heist he has planned. We are quickly taken to the job in question and within 20 minutes the police are already on the scene with hostage negotiators and SWAT. For the next hour or so the film is an exceptional roller coaster ride of clever tactics, flash-forwards and suspicious characters. I was giddy with excitement that I had finally found another intelligent caper film to compete with Kaiser Soze and Tyler Durden. The last 40 minutes of the film managed to dispel those thoughts, however. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

"The What is easy: recently I planned and set in motion events
to execute the perfect bank robbery; that's also the When."

A word must be said about the director. Spike Lee is known for his more dramatic, often controversial films such as ‘Malcolm X’, ‘Jungle Fever’ and ‘Summer of Sam’. There is no denying that he is a remarkably intelligent director and has a unique way of bringing characters to life on the screen. ‘25th Hour’, starring Edward Norton, is an excellent example of how diverse and different a director is Spike Lee. ‘Inside Man’ is apparently Lee’s attempt to make a more “mainstream” action/suspense film. And although the majority of the plot and action are relatively straightforward, there are certainly a number of Spike Lee-isms sprinkled throughout. References to racism and police brutality are readily apparent. However, aside from the political comments Lee may be making, the film itself is brilliantly directed. The pacing is perfect; fast enough to keep you in the action, but also disconnected enough to provide that sense of confusion and wonder we often enjoy in a good caper film.

An impressive roster of actors provides some very interesting and well acted characters. Clive Owen, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer and Willem Defoe all give the high calibre performances we’ve come to expect from such big names. And in most cases the characters are quite dissimilar to the roles normally associated with these actors. Storyline aside it was very entertaining to watch these actors do their thing. The tension between Owen and Washington’s characters is especially exciting during the second act of the film.

"As for the Why: beyond the obvious financial motivation,
it's exceedingly simple... because I can."

I should also briefly mention that the plan itself, the actual bank heist, is brilliant. I’m not going to give away any of the details since that’s what makes the movie so enjoyable. But if you like caper films with really clever and unique ways of getting the job done, you’re sure to enjoy Inside Man. At least for the first two acts.

And that brings us to the third act. The movie sets itself up as a clever, brain-twisting piece but seems to fall flat in the end. I’m not sure if my expectations were too high, but it just felt like Spike Lee was creating something very intricate only to have the resolution be far too simplistic. I picked up on a subtle piece of information early on in the film and was eagerly anticipating the moment where my theory would be proven wrong or realize that I had made the wrong assumptions. It turns out I was exactly correct, so the final “reveal” was not very exciting for me. My wife, Shauna, watched the film as well and later admitted that she did not pick up on the same theory I did, but that the reveal was still not that exciting. The film as a whole was quite good and the story is definitely well written, but something in the end felt like a bit of a let down. I guess I’m still waiting for the next big ‘mind-bender’.

"Which leaves us only with the How;
and therein, as the Bard tells us, lies the rub."

Visually ‘Inside Man’ looks as good as any of the mainstream movies coming out on DVD recently. Though with the introduction of HD DVD and Blu Ray, Standard Definition DVDs are going to start getting lower marks. Overall I did not notice any visual artefacts or inconsistencies. The sound was definitely noticeable though, but in a very good way. The opening title-song was not only very catchy, but used the surrounds heavily and got my subwoofer thumping. A number of specific scenes also used the surround to great effect. It’s hard to explain but if you love good audio in a film then you should definitely check this one out.

I’m sure there were some bonus features somewhere on the DVD, but since it was a rental and already overdue, I had to take it back before I could have a closer look. So instead I’ll take a guess. Hmmm, I bet there are some deleted scenes, a making-of featurette and oh, I dunno, a theatrical trailer. I never really understood the point of including a trailer with the full-length film itself. It’s sort of like opening a can of coke you just bought only to hear a tiny, electronic advertisement in the can say ‘Buy coke!’ Um…I just did. Shut up and let me drink it.

"You got everybody marching to your beat,
including me, and i'm through buying it!"

Overall, Inside Man was definitely entertaining and a very well done film. I still haven’t decided if the let-down in the end was due to my high expectations or if the film was trying to be something it ended up not being. I urge my readers to give this one a look and let me know your thoughts. Ultimately I can’t really advise you to buy it since I can’t decide for myself. Probably not, I guess, since I would only be reminded of what it could have been. But then again I do seem to have a weak spot for DVDs. 285 weak spots, so far.

‘Inside Man’ gets 8 jumpsuits (out of 10).
Click here for ‘Inside Man’ trivia and I’ll release one of the hostages.