Movie review: The Inside Man

I have to admit now that I did have some preconceived notions before I watched this movie - I had read a few reviews about it, which had rated it pretty highly (anything from 3 to 4 stars) and that the director was Spike Lee, who has his own unique style of film making. However, in the end, it was a choice between this and "V for Vendetta" but Chris had already seen "V for Vendetta".

Where to start? The first thing that I think of is that this film is very deceptive - on the surface it seems straight forward, but as you watch it, it becomes more complicated as you think "what is going on?". On the surface, its simple - a gang of people (led by Clive Owen) take a bank and its inhabitants at that particular moment hostage. Its then up to Denzel Washington and William Dafoe who play a detective and police officer respectively, to try and set the hostages free and make sure the gang gets caught. However, as the situation heats up, we realise that this isn't your typical hostage situation - it is a well planned take over where money is not the main objective and the lines become blurred when Jodie Foster's character enters the mix. Who she is exactly is never explained, but she wields a lot of influence in the hostage situation and holds all the trump cards for all the parties involved.

You would classify this film as a thriller - you wonder who will win - the gang or the detective? Or someone else? Its hard to figure out as each character is not what they seem....although William Dafoe looks scary to me no matter role he plays, so I thought he had a hidden motive anyway...

Anyway, I don't want to write anymore, else I'll give too much away. So the verdict? If you like thrillers with a twist, I'd recommend this movie.