This is a difficult film to review. It's got definite moments that're worth watching & some high calibre acting. That being said, it had a gargantuan amount of potential but delivered on only about 10%.
First, I shall visit the high points. Denzel Washington is now apparently ready to step into the "everyman black cop" role vacated by Danny Glover. Is his acting anything you've not seen before? Hardly. But it's still a damn fine job. His partner, whoever the fuck he is, is forgettable. Willam Dafoe is completely thrown away in his role as an unsympathetic cop that gets barely any screen time. But everyone needs to take paycheck jobs, I suppose. Either Jodie Foster is ready to go into semi-retirement or she got offered an assload of cash. Her role serves only to reveal the truth to the audience members not bright enough to figure out the general plot. Her character is never explained & isn't particularly interesting, well-developed, thought-out, or executed. Christopher Plummer doesn't do much, but he fills the standard "old bank executive dude" role just fine. As for the best aspect of this film, not only does Clive Owen manage to steal damn near every scene he's in, he makes a getaway, fences it, stores the payout in a Swiss bank account, and flies to the Carribean. Clive has arrived, biatches. What's funny is I still think of him as "the dude from Privateer 2."
Taken by itself, the story isn't that bad. Bank robberies, hostage taking, cops walking the thin blue line, etc., is all well & good, but if your car ain't got an engine, it still ain't movin'.
There's two places this flick falls flat on its face. Part of the blame lies with the writer. He needs to go back to Storytelling 101 & learn the first ten minutes of the film CANNOT carry the next 90 minutes if you don't develop the characters and plot properly. The script bleeds too quickly at the beginning, setting the viewer up for what would appear to be a fast-paced, thinking, tension-filled movie. Then it just stops...dead...in...the...water...until...the...very...very...very...end...of...the...film
.
This problem could've been overcome, which brings me to my next & biggest criticism -- Spike motherfucking Lee.
His directing here seems amateur at best, which seems strange cos even when he was an amateur, he still showed more prowess behind the camera. It's almost like he took one or two peripheral aspects of the plot and focused on them while ignoring what could've been an actual interesting story. The brand of washed-up crap he serves to us ends up being some sort of heavy-handed, shallow morality tale with Clive serving as the karmic equalizer and Denzel as the common man caught up in events bigger than he understands. Spike tries to hit on things like racism, pervasive violence in society & our acceptance of it, sexism, judgements based on outer appearances, & the seeming indifference or prejudice of the people supposed to be protecting us. He manages to finish with a batting average of .000 in all these categories in terms of their effectiveness or contribution to the film. You can almost see Spike choking on his own ego here. His direction is just simply reactionary, uninspired, clumsy, and sophomoric.
Verdict : 2.5 stars for a script with promise and some good performances from Denzel & Clive. But Spike Lee's hack direction writes "renter" all over this fucker in big, red letters.
Edited By Malcolm on 1143742245
At 'Dem Flicks w\ Malcolm - Inside Man
Spoilers warning?
Spike Lee is the most overrated director in Hollywood. (I almost said except for Burton, but he has actually made a good film.)
Spike Lee is the most overrated director in Hollywood. (I almost said except for Burton, but he has actually made a good film.)
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Spoilers warning?
Spike Lee is the most overrated director in Hollywood. (I almost said except for Burton, but he has actually made a good film.)
Eh? I didn't say anything you wouldn't see from a trailer. What spoiler?
Edited By Malcolm on 1143744140
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Extended analogy.. As for the best aspect of this film, not only does Clive Owen manage to steal damn near every scene he's in, he makes a getaway, fences it, stores the payout in a Swiss bank account, and flies to the Carribean.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."