A science-fiction movie without a real science-fictions story. No wonder most people don't like this movie.

This actually is the first Neill Blomkamp movie that I have ever seen but I of course already was well aware of his reputation. Besides being a visual director, he also seems to be one that loves to say something with his movies. He puts messages in them, to make social statements, as he also clearly does with this latest film. Now, this of course is nothing new and something that movies set in a dystopian future always feature in them but in most other genre movies it works out far better and more effectively than ever is the case in this movie!

There are really several problems with the way how this movie is trying to set up its world and get its points across. First of all, it isn't providing us with enough back story, explaining why the world ended up the way as it did, as shown in this movie and why there is such a big segregation between those who are poor and have absolutely nothing and those who are rich and have everything. That brings me to another problem; the contrasts in this movie are just far too big. It's far from subtle all really and definitely goes at the expense of the movie its credibility and of the messages that it's trying to get across and the points it is trying to make.

And speaking of not being very subtle; this goes for all of its characters as well, especially its villains. Basically all of the characters in this movie are big stereotypes and more cartoon like than anything else really, which is an odd thing for a movie that's trying to tell a serious story, with lots of heavy handed messages in it. It all would have been fine, as long as the movie was going for a totally entertaining, blockbuster approach but this movie obviously is trying to be way more than just that!


The problem with its main-story further more is that it really doesn't seem to fit a big science-fiction movie, such as this one is. Perhaps the problem with it is, is that director and writer of this movie Neill Blomkamp is only used to doing much smaller scaled movies. And really, this movie its story would have been perfectly fine for a smaller, more subtle, type of science-fiction movie, made with a much smaller budget, less star power involved and a significantly less amount of special effects.

Sure, the movie is great to look at but none of that really matters when a movie fails to grab you with either its story or characters. It makes the movie eye candy and nothing more but just eye candy. Even entertainment-wise the movie feels lacking, mostly because it's featuring such a serious main story. Some more fun and lightheartedness wouldn't have harmed this movie but unfortunately this wasn't the approach this movie was ever going for.

It ultimately is a very forgettable movie, which probably is the best way to sum this movie up.

6/10

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Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. From: IMDb.com

A factory worker takes on a mission to hijack his way onto a man-made space habitat. From: IMDb.com

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. From: IMDb.com

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. From: IMDb.com

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. From: IMDb.com

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. From: IMDb.com

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp

Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley and others

Current release date: August 9, 2013

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. From: IMDb.com

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp

Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley and others

Current release date: August 9, 2013

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. From: IMDb.com

Set in the year 2159, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp

Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley and others

Current release date: August 5, 2013

(Review originally written at 3 September 2006)

All that praise for this movie...while it in my opinion is nothing more than a simple written but very well directed heist movie which cast and style still make this an entertaining enough and certainly watchable movie. It however is a movie with a tad more misses than hits really.

Main problem for me was the story. Over and over again it is told in the movie that this is the perfect bank robbery. Quite frankly I really don't see back in the movie why exactly the plan is such a brilliant one. Also the twist at the end left me cold and it was far from satisfying for me. I found the story to be simple and formulaic written. The movie tried to make itself seem more complex and clever but putting some non-linear story lines in the movie but its all not enough to make the story seem more interesting or any more clever. Spike Lee's directing however certainly spiced things up and manged to give the movie still some flair and an excellent 'cool' atmosphere. Nevertheless the movie and its story just didn't hit me as clever, surprising or perfectly solidly written, which made the movie as a whole to me a bit simple although it certainly still was perfectly entertaining to watch.

"Inside Man" isn't really a movie that allows itself to be put in a corner. It's hard to classify this movie as to what genre it is. As a thriller it isn't tense enough and as a crime movie it isn't clever and tough enough. For most part the movie is mostly entertaining to watch but than again at the same time the movie tries to handle some more serious and delicate matters. Best example of this are of course the racial and discriminating issues, a returning element in Spike Lee movies. The moments felt forced, out of place and totally unneeded. Because this movie doesn't really fit in a genre its hard to known how and with what approach or distance to watch this movie.

The cast is impressive, perhaps a bit too. Denzel Washington is perfectly in his element, as yet again a police detective. He seems to be getting with every movie I see him in. Clive Owen isn't as impressive but he is a good actor and he plays his role convincing and 'cool' enough. The movie also has Jodie Foster and Christopher Plummer in it but it makes you wonder why. Their roles are small and don't seem significant enough, even though they play an important part in the story. This is mainly because their screen time is too limited and it feels like a huge waste of talent. Jodie Foster normally picks her roles very carefully and it makes me wonder why she ever agreed to be in this movie. Willem Dafoe on the other hand again is a perfect, pleasant and most welcome addition to the star-filled cast.

This movie still shows that Spike Lee is a great talented director with a nose for the business. This unfortunately in this case only shows in its style. The movie has some great executed- and almost artistically style-full sequences. It to me was the only reason why this movie still was a good- and entertaining enough movie to watch, for the story and its character left me cold mostly.

Simple entertainment. Style-full but not solid.

6/10

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