.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

When the movie trailer for Match Point starring Scarlett Johanssen starting showing up in my favorite multi-plex last year, I remember being mildly intrigued at the premise then being blown away when it was revealed at the end of the ad that the film was directed by none other than Mr. Woody Allen.

Wha? Mr. "Look at my neurotic bitching" is directing a suspense/thriller? Whoa! My interest went through the roof as I couldn't remember the last time - of ever - that I had been so surprised at the genre choice for a directors upcoming effort.

Well, it happened again with the new bank heist flick, Inside Man. The trailer and ads lead me down a guessing path wherein I was spewing out guesses such as F. Gary Gray or Brett Ratner as the man behind the camera. But when the final credit revealed itself, I sat jaw agape as "a spike lee joint" flashed upon the screen. The March 24th release date was then circled on the office calendar.

Inside Man does have one marking of a Spike Lee film - Denzel Washington. The two have shared movie poster credits with films such as Malcolm X, Mo Better Blues and He Got Game. They are the black man's George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh. And that can be a very good thing.

Inside Man also boasts some incredible talent in support of Mr. Training Day. Academy Award winners or nominees galore surround Denzel with names like Foster, Dafoe and Owen. Altogether, they fight for marquee supremacy while giving the viewer the biggest barge or egos since Ocean's Twelve.

So the only question remaining was can all these remarkable talents join together and actually make a good film.

Inside Man is a movie about a bank robbery. Clive Owen plays Dalton Russell, the man behind the operation who in the opening sequences narration, lets us know that he puts together the perfect crime. His attempt to rob Case Manhattan Bank leads to Denzel's Detective Keith Fraizer being assigned as the hostage negotiator. Complicating matters and unknown to the paying customer until necessary is what exactly is being stolen. Dalton seems to have little to no interest in all the money that surrounds him in the vault and the owner of the bank, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) seems so concerned about a personal belonging kept in the vault's safety deposit box that he employs the services of one Madeline White (Jodie Foster). Her background is never quite revealed, but what is crystal is that she is as tough as nails and has the right markers to protect the interests and reputation of Mr. Case.

So the table is set. The characters are in place. Fraizer will try and talk Dalton out of killing anyone in the bank while White will try and arbitrate the negotiations and offer both sides future benefits for walking away from escalating the situation larger than the severity it has already reached.

Inside Man is a better than average film with a much better than average cast. Denzel and Owen provide refreshing performances with characters that have been done before - and many times over. Their screen time together sizzles with tension and an understanding as to each others role in how the final act will play out.

Foster's participation on the other hand is less impressive. Foster does her best in a limited role and definitely commands a presence on the screen, but you can't help but feel that she is a bit wasted when the final product is revealed and the end credits roll.

But maybe most impressive is the directing of Spike Lee. We are used to his heavy handed films that are steep with racial tension. And although Inside Man does have its moments of racial indifference (most particularly a comedic breaking scene with a bank employee who's turbin has been taken by the police during a take-down) - Lee understands that the film at hand is that of a bank robbery and the attempts to salvage the hostage situation. He keeps things tight, moving and towards an end that even yours truly couldn't figure out until the results were revealed.

That in short makes Inside Man one of the better films of the still new year and revives a Lee career that hasn't produced anything interesting since The 25th hour five years ago.