Inside Man
By Cory Peynado, blockbuster.co.uk

“My name is Dalton Russell, pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself.”

It’s been a while but when he wants to, director Spike Lee can still make his presence felt on the Hollywood platform. This time Denzel Washington heads up a hugely talented cast for the high-speed thriller, Inside Man. A smart and witty heist movie filled with hard hitting characters and a cool story-driven plot.

The so-called “bad guys” of the tale are lead by British heavy weight Clive Owen who plays Dalton Russell. A man who single-handedly plans a bank robbery in broad daylight and has absolutely no doubt in his mind that he will get away with it. Calm and complex in his methods, he starts the film off by walking into the bank with a small team and carefully disabling every security measure there is. This is the point where every customer in the bank knows they are going to be late for work.

Denzel Washington plays Keith Frazier, an NYPD hostage negotiator heading up the boys in blue outside the Manhattan bank after the group of robbers have taken everyone hostage. Dalton makes his demands clear in a calm icy voice when making a call to Keith. As the plan unfolds, the face-off between them becomes the pivotal tension point in the movie. Keith is unwavering from his goal but is also keen to get inside this eccentric criminals mind. This is what keeps the film interesting throughout.

The extra spice comes courtesy of Jodie Foster, hired by the bank's founder, Christopher Plummer, to protect the dark secret he has hidden away in one of his safe-deposit boxes. The criminals also have many secrets and many motives, and rather than stuffing cash into those classic white dollar sign sacks, they stay focused on staying one step ahead of the police and are not afraid to let them know they mean business.

The Verdict:
Like baking a cake, as long as you have the right formula everyone is going to love it no matter how many times they have tasted it already. That said, this will stand out a little bit more from the crowd because of the unique spins that Lee has added. It’s worth watching just for the talent involved. Add to list now!

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