Caddickisms

Hey, guess what… this review will be completely devoid of jokes about having seen this movie before. Just wanted to get that off my chest.

Off the top of my head I can’t think of any movie I’ve seen Denzel Washington in that I didn’t like. This movie is no exception. It’s got it all—Sci-fi, Sci-fact, love story, action, and even a couple funny moments. And for a movie that has the potential to involve paradoxes, it handles the story pretty well, too.

While investigating a murder that seems to be linked to a ferry bombing, Denzel’s character sees the words “U can save her” spelled out in alphabet refrigerator magnets in the victim’s kitchen. That’s the first (obvious) hint we get that this movie will be different than just your run-of-the-mill action/murder mystery flick. When an FBI agent (Val Kilmer) approaches him about joining a team that can watch events unfold 4-1/2 days in the past to try to catch the killer, Denzel agrees, though he soon discovers there is more to this technology than he is being led to believe.

Director Tony Scott does a very smart thing in dealing with the science-fiction aspect of the movie: while it’s obviously integral to the plot, he never lets it become the focal point. It’s there, as a tool, doing its job, but the focus is always on the murder/terrorism plot, and specifically Denzel’s investigation. Even as we learn more about it, it’s never “oooo, look what we can do,” but rather, “how does this help us solve the case and save lives?” It’s a good move that keeps the film grounded in reality and makes it more believable.

While not perfect, the paradox issue is handled nicely. I do have some issues with items he finds at the beginning of the movie in the victim’s house, but it wasn’t enough for me to get bent out of shape about. I don’t want to give away anything, but I will say that some things shouldn’t really be there.

That said, it was a well-written, well-acted, well-directed movie. I was entertained for the full two (and a bit) hours. I also like the DVD feature of integrating behind-the-scenes documentary footage into the film as part of the commentary feature.

Four stars.

Technorati Tags: Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Bruce Greenwood, science fiction, paradox

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Well, Blockbuster has been sucking me dry on this movie for a long time (it’s been sitting around my house for way too long). I finally got a chance to watch it.

Inside Man is a good heist flick. All the elements are there, in plain sight, for you to figure everything out. I consider it a personal failure that I didn’t come up with the actual escape plan before it was revealed. I’m usually better at doing that than most people. In this movie though, there were enough distractions and red-herrings that it got past me. To the director (Spike Lee) and the writer (apparently a first-time screenwriter): well done.

If I were to look for any problems, there would be two, though. First, I think it could have been tightened up just a little. At a running time of a bit over 2 hours, a little trimming would have helped. The other was that I think the tying up of the loose ends, while important, took too long after the main plot ended. Momentum just seemed to die rather quickly.

Denzel Washington did a great job, as usual, in the lead role of the detective handling hostage negotiations in this rather odd and extremely well-planned bank robbery. Jodie Foster was a cool customer and a little creepy as the high-society “fixer” who handles Christopher Plummer’s bank owner’s personal stake in the problem. Clive Owen, the lead robber, was very calm and collected - he was a man who knew exactly what to do at every turn.

I’d give this one 4 out of 5 stars.

(Now I just have to find time to watch the other two 3-hour movies that have been sitting here for over a month. It’s hard to find a block of time that big when there are young kids in the house.)

Technorati Tags: heist, Spike Lee, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, Clive Owen, movies, reviews, bank robbery

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