Inside Man

The director here seems to have no idea how to tell this story. The way some scenes come across seem so obviously wrong, as if the story, the director and the actors are not entirely on the same page. They haven't thought the film through well enough. This easily could've been at least a decent film with these actors and the crime story. However the film leaves us mostly just stunned in disbelief as to how badly this story is conveyed to us at certain times. The writing is also quite weak in some areas, and much of it just seems regurgitated from other classic crime films, (Which could still be reasonably good if done well.). At the very start of the film, it actually does seem fairly good, until you start to see all the problems I've previously mentioned here. At that point, it just starts to become ridiculous.

2.5/10.

Inside Man starts decent enough with Emile Hirsch playing a cop with anger managment problems who convinces his captain to let him go undercover to infiltrate the mob.

The film attempts to copy Scorcese's style with Emile Hirsch narrating over slow motion montages scored with guitar / rock music. There is harsh realistic violence, scenes of hits, people being tortured, cut to pieces and being disposed in garbage bags. There are a few tense scenes.

However the film is less than the sum of its parts. It fails to connect. Where Goodfellas or Casino pulled you in, made everything feel grandiose and meaningful, the plot here amounts to very little, and Emile Hirsch's protagonist is neither interesting or engaging. His acting is a mixed back here. Great in some scenes, deer in the headlight in others. There's no way experienced mobsters wouldn't have sniffed him out as he was flinching and staring in utter horror during the killings.

The mobsters themselves are sadly forgettable. There's no colorful characters here portrayed by veteran actors like Pesci or DeNiro.

Inside man isn't unwatchable, I was just bored by it.

So, the crazy thing is, I am on a Denzel Washington movie binge and I seen that Inside Man was next on my list. So, I pressed the voice button on my fire stick, remote, and say the name of the movie and a picture of Denzel pops up and I pressed play. About halfway into the movie. I realize I have not seen Denzel and he's not the kind of guy who would come up in the latter part of a movie lol. Slightly annoyed but intrigued I ended up watching the rest of this movie because it was actually good. Very interesting story and very crazy especially since it's true. The cast did a great job. I actually found myself pretty nervous for the main character most of the movie.

If you're a fan of the mob and in particular what went on around the gemini lounge with roy demeo and his crew then this is a good movie to watch. I've always been a fan of emile hirsch to and he rarely disappoints, I thought the rest of the cast did well to and the locations and cars matched the period it was depicting, thats kind of mad considering it's not from a major studio! I had read the book about this guy and his crew and maybe they could have added more scenes showing just how brutal they were. I seriously think this movie is a solid 6.5 or 7 but since we can't vote in halves il give it a 7. Watch it and see what you think.

Quite enjoyed this easy-to-digest undercover cop effort. Film takes place in the 1980's and you can tell they put a lot of effort into costume (especially Lucy Hale) and set decoration.

Some films, like this one are just easy to sit thru - the story is simple, pacing is even (meaning most scenes don't lag) and the dialogue progresses the plot and adds some humor as well.

They also use narration the correct way, by allowing the lead to guide the audience (similar to Goodfellas) thru the story. It's not heavy handed or over used, which is a tricky way to write a screenplay.

Overall I enjoyed this film, it doesn't try to do too much, but creates a nice 80's atmosphere and does most things correctly. Only problem is they once again use CGI for gunshot wounds. Please, directors...stop doing this! It's an immediate downgrade on any film. 6.3/10.