NotArrogant.com - Inside Man

Inside Man

Written by John Rozewicki

Friday, 21 July 2006

Heist Movie by a Preacher

I was really excited to see Inside Man. The trailer made it look pretty intense, Denzel Washington(Fallen, Training Day, The Manchurian Candidate) shouting, "This isn't a bank robbery," piqued my interest, and Clive Owen(King Arthur, Closer, Sin City) is usually very good. The fact that Spike Lee(Do The Right Thing, Summer of Sam, 25th Hour) was attached as a director made me think that it would be something more than a run-of-the mill heist movie. Unfortunately, I was right.

Split Scenes

Scenes in this movie can be broken down into one of two categories. The first category includes ordinary movie scenes that advance the main heist plot of the movie. The second category includes all the scenes that are only included in order to make heavy-handed, and sometimes inaccurate(the "Kill That Nigga!" video game scene), statements about things Spike Lee thinks goes on in America everyday. The heist plot is pretty well done; if a little transparent. There's probably movies that do a better job. In 2006 it's hard to make a movie with a twist the audience hasn't been looking for the whole time. I'm satisfied with it. It was entertaining and kept me guessing. It's not a completely terrible movie. I will admit that I am overly critical of things that are purely for entertainment purposes, but this movie was not created entirely for entertainment purposes. It is very easy to see from the scenes that stick out like a sore thumb.

Ignored Opportunities

It's not the preachiness of the movie that really bothers me. It's how Spike Lee wasn't creative enough to work the heavy messages he wanted to convey into the plot of the film. It's not as if there weren't places in the plot to work things in. Much of the later plot of the movie has to do with a man who has done some evil in the past, but had gone on to do good because of it. There could have been a very nice discussion played out on film about whether good deeds in the present can wash away the transgressions of the past.

'Throw the Jew down the well?'*

Every character in the film banded together to take down this man; even characters in the movie who were painted as being critical thinkers and fighters for justice. Interestingly, the man in question is a jew who sold his friends up the river to build a bank; anti-semitism perhaps? There were many beautiful shots of this man's collection of prestigious deeds. Yet there was absolutely zero discussion from any of the characters as to whether or not this man had redeemed himself.

Conclusion

As I said before, Inside Man is not a particularly bad movie. It just has some very annoying elements that are impossible to ignore if you follow the plot with any sort of diligence. This movie does not reward those who think. It rewards those who sit back, watch, and forget that the entire movie is given away between the opening shots and the title.