The Inside Man (Universal HD-DVD)
Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B- Film: B
After so
many political films, Spike Lee decided to do a project that was more
commercial, with the result showing a new side of his many talents that still
remained very much a film filled with his character as auteur. The
Inside Man is an exceptional heist drama with Denzel Washington as the good
police detective who has to work against the emergency of a bank heist during
business hours that has led to a massive hostage situation.
Sketchy
to him at first, there is something more going on than a robbery gone
wrong. The head of the team at large
(Clive Owen) seems to be up to more than just a mere robbery as the detective
quickly calculates under the greatest of pressure what is really going on. Then there is the intervention of a
mysterious fixer (Jodie Foster) who seems friendly, yet there is more to her
story as well.
Russell
Gewirtz’s screenplay has more surprises, a structure that works and all in all,
everything moves along like a well-oiled machine. Not only are all the performances really
good, but the actors actually up each other’s delivery as the film just builds
and builds. Though some have pointed out
some aspects of the story may stretch things a bit, it is very enjoyable and
one of the few (and better) heist films of late. Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe and
Chiwetel Ejiofor also star.
The 1080p
VC-1 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is a shade darker than would be naturally
so for mood and by design, nicely shot by Director of Photography Mathew
Libatique, A.S.C., with a smoothness and consistency that combines the urban
heist film of the 1970s with Lee’s own style, resulting in a look and smart
compositions throughout that also further the narrative. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is also good, with
clean, clear dialogue and a richness throughout more typical of what you would expect
from a new production. Terence Blanchard’s
score sounds really good, something Jazz and Soundtrack (especially audiophile)
fans will be very happy with.
Extras
include over 20 minutes of deleted scenes, a good making of featurette, feature
length audio commentary with Lee and Number
4, a solid look at the great, prolific cinema relationship with Lee and
Washington. Hopefully, this will not be
the last time by a longshot.
- Nicholas Sheffo
