Bank on it: "Inside Man"

Very odd. This is the second movie I've seen and enjoyed recently despite it coming from a diminutive, bespectacled director whose movies I usually don't think are as good as everyone else does. And based on a quick Google search, Spike Lee just loves being called "the black Woody Allen." Um, yeah.

Of course, "Inside Man" is a bit different from "Match Point," but both movies show how good directors can try something different and succeed. Whereas Allen strayed into suspense and thriller territory, Lee tries another mainstream genre: action. Well, maybe there's some suspense here, too. Hey, cut me some slack on all this "genre" jazz. The only film class I took in college was for a pass-fail grade. (I passed ... film students apparently are so bad at writing essays that mine were brilliant by comparison, even if written the mornings they were due.)

Whatever you call it, "Inside Man" is a decent cat-and-mouse story centered around a hostage situation at a Wall Street bank. The bad guys are led by Clive Owen, who continues his mission to obscure his face with each movie. Since gaining notice as a smooth-faced, slicked-back croupier, Owen has let stubble grow and hair hang over his face. Now he goes further with sunglasses and a mask for most of this movie. Um, don't people think you're good-looking, Clive?
Once the bank is taken, we meet the police negotiator, played by Denzel "Carbon Copy" Washington. The third leg of this triumvirate is Jodie Foster as some kind of corporate fixer/problem-solver brought in by the bank board's chairman (Christopher Plummer) to keep the contents of one particular safe-deposit box safe.

Washington does the "Training Day" thing except with less menace. I guess there's a little "Out of Time" and "The Siege" in there, too. It's really nothing new for him, but he's solid as usual. Foster is all polish and control, immaculately dressed in power suits -- but with skirts; go Jodie! -- and completely composed at all times. It's a good role for her, and I suspect other leading ladies would have gone too far and tried b*tchiness when simple firmness sufficed.

Owen also is fine as the man in control, although his role probably is the weakest, and not just because he's masked. Not to get all Actors Studio here, but for all the twists and turns in this plot, I found myself wondering, "What's his motivation?" The story is fine -- just like Denzel, we're left to guess what's really going inside the bank, and we see more than the cops on-screen do. All I knew was that there had to be something more there, and it was enough to keep me interested.

As for Spike Lee's fingerprints, we're spared the hammer-on-the-head messages about race, equality, etc. There's some of that stuff, i.e. a Sikh getting his turban taken away, but it seems to fit the plot well and even has a little humor. On the technical side, a few scenes are classic Lee, but they're indulgences more than necessities.

When it comes to the story, there's at least one relatively decent-sized hole/stretch, and probably a couple of others if you think about it. Definitely not enough to torpedo the plot or movie, but enough to keep me from calling this as a great movie. Instead, it's merely good and well worth a weekend matinee. In these pre-May times, when your other options are "The Benchwarmers" and "Take the Lead," what more can you ask for?