Well I was pretty excited to make my first trip to the movie theater this year, to see my 3rd Spike Lee film (after 25th Hour and Jungle Fever). This film, despite solid performances from all of its principal cast, ultimately faltered and held no remnance of the Spike Lee style I've heard of. Denzel was his usual self, Jodie Foster was good, and Clive Owen was solid in what I feel like is probably the first film I've seen him in (maybe). The tricky plot seemed a little too complicated for its own good at times, like Lee was hurting the film as a whole by trying to make the story really complex.
The biggest flaw in this film was the music, which was a mix of misplaced indian themes and cliched action movie music. I was also kind of tired of the twisty camera work at the end. In this day and age, doing a two-minute tracking shot isn't so spectacular anymore, and Lee must've tried it like 10 times. Also, I don't know what Willem Dafoe was doing here, playing just another NYC cop. His talents seemed vastly underused.
Ultimately, a solid if not unremarkable film from a director who could do much better.
