Inside Man (Blu Ray)
A disappointing treatment of a great movie
Tags: Misc DVD 2009 Categories: DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Jun 12th, 2009
The Inside Man could be mistaken for a heist movie, and although you would be in the ballpark, that pigeonhole doesn’t quite apply. The life imbibed by the cast into this film, along with Spike Lee’s always-great camera work, brings this film above the ultra stylish genre Soderbergh gets the All-Stars together for. This isn’t high art, but it distinguishes itself as being tightly wound around two principal characters. Denzel Washington as Detective Frazier brings his huge talent, and when that is added to the smoldering Clive Owen as the robber, Dalton Russell, you have something worth paying attention to.
For Lee to enter a genre that has already been well worn is out of sorts for him, as he has made quite a name for himself within the niche he craved almost single-handedly. However he has a well known political bend that some people may object to, but this is a great opportunity to see his talent. For a guy that makes small movies, he has a real sense of the camera. Working with pans and long shots to ease the audience into scene transitions, Lee makes movies in a way that really stands out in the era of quick edits and handheld cameras. That’s no insult, Lee’s best talent is keeping a foot in the classical and radical worlds, letting him make edgy movies that nod to the classics.
This film has a few obvious classics built into its foundation. Dog Day Afternoon gets a name check in the film, but there are others. However beyond the simple robbery and the detective’s trying to unravel it, there is an outer layer to the plot involving the chairman of the bank trying to secure something very sensitive in the vault. The chairman, played by Christopher Plummer, seeks out a problem solver. This problem solver is obviously not afraid to get her hands dirty, and can even push the mayor around. Normally I would find this obvious walking plot device annoying and unrealistic, but Jodie Foster gives the character a human edge that is actually very believable. Her chemistry with Denzel Washington plays really well, cementing his character as the upstart genius.
This is a genuinely likeable movie. It manages to show off Spike Lee’s ability to run circles around mainstream filmmakers. For those of you who are fans of his statement movies, there are a few editorials he gets in among the heist film. It isn’t much but hopefully it gets you to check out this film. However, the Blu Ray could have really used some real bonus features.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Excellent Cast + Great camera work |
7.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
| - Special features are almost identical to the DVD | |
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| This is an excellent film, but I expected more from the Blu-ray package. | |
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Tags: Misc DVD 2009
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Jun 12th, 2009 and is filed under DVD/TV Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
