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OFCS Rating: 82% Fresh |
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| "the apotheosis of its genre, honing the heist siege flick to the perfection of a diamond. See it, and be dazzled." |
| Eye for Film |
| Anton Bitel |
A- | "This is the best big studio effort so far this year." |
| FromTheBalcony |
| Bill Clark |
7/10 | "Lee's direction and masterful handling of an intricate plot are impressive on their own, but what's most refreshing about Man is its sense of humor." |
| Freeze Dried Movies |
| Brian Juergens |
B | "The film is tremendous entertainment, and it's an utter joy to see Spike back in action, but the filmmaker can't control himself completely, and he exits Inside Man on an infuriating whimper." |
| FilmJerk.com |
| Brian Orndorf |
4.5/5 | "A film that swaggers." |
| Filmcritic.com |
| Chris Barsanti |
| "New York is everywhere in Spike Lee's sharp, new, genre-bending movie. Not just in the sweeping-through-the-streets or the creeping-along-the-sidewalks shots, but also inside the Manhattan bank where the film is mostly set." |
| PopMatters |
| Cynthia Fuchs |
5/5 | "This is an ingeniously crafted, expertly constructed mini-masterpiece." |
| eFilmCritic.com |
| David Cornelius |
C+ | "An over-clever, underwhelming caper that's largely undeserving of its director and cast." |
| EDGE Boston |
| David Foucher |
2.5/4 | "Well-acted, occasionally tense, and intriguing at times but mostly pat and predictable NYPD Blue screen stuff." |
| rec.arts.movies.reviews |
| David N. Butterworth |
2.5/4 | "...a straight-forward (yet undeniably overlong) piece of work." |
| Reel Film Reviews |
| David Nusair |
| "Takes the obvious plot constructs of an hourlong network TV episode and stretches them to the breaking point, bringing absolutely nothing new to the genre." |
| DVDJournal.com |
| Dawn Taylor |
B | "The filmmaker seems to be patting himself on the back for being so smart to put this heist pic over
without playing by the rules of the genre." |
| Ozus' World Movie Reviews |
| Dennis Schwartz |
2/4 | "The climax doesn't just spell out every surprise plot turn, but italicizes and underlines them too, and then puts to use a yellow highlighter for solid measure." |
| TheMovieBoy.com |
| Dustin Putman |
3/5 | "Un policial interesante y algo original, con comentario socio-político incluido. Al final le sobran facilismos y algunos cabos sueltos, pero las buenas actuaciones y la mano del director lo compensan." |
| Uruguay Total |
| Enrique Buchichio |
B | "You go home satisfied -- but not blown away -- and the movie never crosses your mind again." |
| EricDSnider.com |
| Eric D. Snider |
4/4 | "Retains all the elements of a solid caper film, basked in the smarts of a decades old police procedural and leaves us with something greater than forced twists and shoot-outs." |
| eFilmCritic.com |
| Erik Childress |
B+ | "Not the kind of strongly polarizing work that the filmmaker has done in the past, but that makes it no less significant. It's a subtle tour de force.
" |
| Film Blather |
| Eugene Novikov |
B | "Isn't much more than a conventional cat-and-mouse tale...but so handsomely mounted, well cast and expertly crafted that it's far more enjoyable than it has any right to be." |
| One Guy's Opinion |
| Frank Swietek |
5/5 | "An extraordinary movie about power, amorality, ethics, and urban living, by director Spike Lee at the height of his talent.
" |
| Spirituality and Practice |
| Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat |
3/4 | "Spike Lee's latest joint is a workmanlike thriller that provides solid performances; a mixture of comedy, tension, and drama; and an engaging storyline." |
| ReelViews |
| James Berardinelli |
3/5 | "Solid genre effort." |
| Q Network Film Desk |
| James Kendrick |
4/10 | "Click here to read review" |
| vj.net.ua |
| Jaroslav Vishtaljuk |
3/4 | "Spike Lee knows how to coax novelty out of conventional drama." |
| Palo Alto Weekly |
| Jeanne Aufmuth |
8/10 | "An assured work that hits most of the right notes, Inside Man updates a genre piece with post 9/11 urgency." |
| Window to the Movies |
| Jeffrey Chen |
7/10 | "I enjoyed this film from beginning to end and was never really bored at any point." |
| JoBlo's Movie Emporium |
| JoBlo |
2/4 | "With a few notable exceptions, there's little of Mr. Lee's trademark style anywhere to be seen. And he is sorely missed." |
| Big Picture Big Sound |
| Joe Lozito |
| "There's a lot going on, and Lee has picked a strong cast to carry us through the negotiations." |
| Light Views |
| John Larsen |
8/10 | "[Lee's] most complete picture in over a decade." |
| Planet Sick-Boy |
| Jon Popick |
5/5 | "Inside Man is smart and funny and a movie for grown folks. You know what I mean?" |
| 3BlackChicks Review |
| Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel |
4.5/5 | "The ultimate cleverness of it isn't revealed until the very last maraschino of information is dropped on the top. Delicious!" |
| Cinerina |
| Karina Montgomery |
3.5/4.0 | "A slow-burning, old school thriller about executing the perfect crime (and enjoying every minute of it)." |
| MovieCrypt.com |
| Kevin A. Ranson |
3/5 | "Inside Man tries to be more - more socially relevant, more racially sensitive, more politically saturated - than it really should." |
| 7M Pictures |
| Kevin Carr |
B+ | "Above all, the aural soundscape of this film is outstanding, from the sound recording and editing to the inspired score by Terence Blanchard." |
| Reeling Reviews |
| Laura Clifford |
| "A hugely entertaining heist film, with a refreshingly straightforward plot, excellent characters, and just the right amount of Spike's snarky class/racial digs." |
| Not Coming to a Theater Near You |
| Leo Goldsmith |
3/4 | "Hugely entertaining, the film strikes a near-flawless balance between sly pop-culture allusions and the details of how business gets done under pressure." |
| TV Guide's Movie Guide |
| Maitland McDonagh |
B+ | "With Inside Man director Spike Lee takes a break from social commentaries to put forward a highly entertaining and unexpectedly funny genre film." |
| Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema |
| Mark Pfeiffer |
| "I never wanna have to say something like this, particularly about a movie featuring such delicious specimens of manliness as both Clive Owen and Denzel Washington, but Inside Man is a lousy lay." |
| Flick Filosopher |
| MaryAnn Johanson |
3/5 | "The Spike Lee touches carry some of the weight, but sometimes they're merely distracting. They're just barely enough to overcome the film's problematic plot." |
| Goatdog's Movies |
| Michael W. Phillips, Jr. |
3.5/4 | "I still want Spike Lee to make the challenging independent features for which he has become well known. However, as a detour into more mainstream filmmaking, Inside Man is genuinely satisfying." |
| Aisle Seat |
| Mike McGranaghan |
A- | "Spike Lee's brilliant direction and a clever and surprising script from first-timer Russell Gewirtz provide an ideal setting for four of the most watchable actors in the business in a heist film that transcends and tweaks its genre." |
| Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies |
| Nell Minow |
1.5/4 | "Perhaps not Lee's dullest "joint," it's nonetheless one of his most sloppily rolled." |
| Slant Magazine |
| Nick Schager |
4/5 | "Um filme tenso e intrigante que, além de contar com personagens interessantes, confere cores novas ao surrado subgênero "assalto a banco"." |
| Cinema em Cena |
| Pablo Villaca |
3.5/5 | "Lee has matured into a much subtler force behind the camera, content to let the story unfold before him without thrusting himself into the spotlight as well." |
| Film Threat |
| Pete Vonder Haar |
2.5/4 | "Not nearly as tricky as it thinks it is." |
| Shadows on the Wall |
| Rich Cline |
5/5 | "[Lee] nails the irritable yet alive soul of New York -- particularly, now, New York post-9/11 -- better than anyone else." |
| eFilmCritic.com |
| Rob Gonsalves |
B- | "If it's not a great thriller, then at least it's a different thriller... and "different" carries pleasures all its own." |
| Flipside Movie Emporium |
| Rob Vaux |
B | "The pacing is a bit slow, but the mystery pulls you through it." |
| Laramie Movie Scope |
| Robert Roten |
7/10 | "Spike Lee gets downright entertaining in a buddy suspense thriller you won't figure out until the lights come up in the multiplex." |
| Monsters and Critics |
| Ron Wilkinson |
2/4 | "We've come to expect more from a Lee-Washington joint than by-the-book cat-and-mouse charades." |
| Charlotte Weekly |
| Sean O'Connell |
| "With Inside Man -- an ostensibly straightforward, old-fashioned heist movie -- Spike Lee brings together the old New York and the new." |
| Salon.com |
| Stephanie Zacharek |
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OFCS Rating: 82% Fresh |
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