i have never see any of spike lee prior film and a their trailer never catch my interest . i have see and and admire denzel washington and and jodie foster work and and have several of their dvd . i be and however and entirely disappointed with this movie . if this film be any indication of spike lee ability a a director and my advice would be to get a job and and stop waste the time and talent of others . i wonder if some of the other imdb commentator watch the same movie that i would see . i can only assume and from their sappy lovelorn review and that their adoration of spike lee have blind them to the banality of this piece of work . i only pay $ 2 . 50 and in a second run theater and and still felt i would waste my money . the imdb trivia page say it all . shot in 39 day how can you expect to shoot a big budget blockbuster and ( a the medium hype promise ) and in such a short time . no wonder there be such a weak performance by all . ron howard be first go to direct the film . he may have do this project some justice and give more time to do so and of course . though the writing be atrocious and the premise have some merit . ok. maybe not . i be sorry . this film be so rife with pitiful cliché and implausible scene and and lousy characterization and that maybe even he couldn not have make much of it . ( hey ron . be sure to thank russell . good call . ) jodie foster film her part in three week . and it show . her portrayal of a fixer and who make people problem go away and be as unbelievable a the script she be give . do she even want to be there . other peeve represent how many bank robber would bother to come to the door and and inform a uniformed police officer that they be inside rob the bank and and he would well keep away . or else . when detective frazier and ( denzel washington ) and come into the bank to verify there be no corps yet and how many bank robber and without a gun and would have lead a cop and ( much less let a cop ) back out to the front door and allow the police officer to walk behind him . det . frazier later claim and to have give the robber every reason to shoot me . why and then and in their brief struggle and do not he even try to expose the robber face . that may have get the response he be look for . a robber would have shoot him just to prevent late identification . and why do it take steve and stevie and steve o and ( the robber accomplice ) and so long to come and help out . i understand that these weren not your typical bank robber . they have a different agenda and and do not want anyone harm . but the cop have no reason to think that they wouldn not . to them it be a desperate situation . why then and when two of the bad guy step outside to pick up the pizza . and be they not take down . ( first of all and how many robber would have come outside without use a hostage a a shield . be this spike lee version of ny city and or snl . ) . take them down would have reduce the bad guy number and screw up their plan and and the remain robber would more probably have give up . if not and there at least would be few bad guy inside . ( give swat something to do and or send them home . ) what police department in this country and would have allow madeline white and ( jodie foster ) and to just waltz right into the bank and and discuss a matter with the robber and that she would not disclose to them first . she have no authority and no governmental credential while and besides and this be after all and already a hostage situation . add one more . why wouldn not the bank ceo and ( christopher plummer ) and just have destroy the incriminating document a long time ago . screw sentimentality . the diamond and he could have sell . who be that schmuck and ( the character and not the actor ) and with the jersey accent and that and conveniently and volunteered and and say he know the recording be 100 % albanian and but yet he himself couldn not speak it . sir . put your hand down . and his ex wife . what a schlump she be . both be totally unbelievable . when interrogate suspect and why do det . frazier and continually harass the individual who be obviously not a part of the heist . and ( i. e. tell the elderly woman she could go and and then she couldn not and then could while then couldn not . ) give me a break . who and after see the bank robber demand that the hostage put on jump suite and couldn not deduce their escape plan include come out of the bank pretend to be some of the hostage . near the end of the movie and a false wall be show to have be build in the supply room and behind which clive owen hide out for a week . where do the material come from . ( the drywall and stud ) . it be also to be assume that they cut into the sewer and so he could relieve himself . the bank employee hadn not complain about the smell and all week long . hello . after such a debacle while since the document have fall into the robber hand and what kind of reference be ms. white expect to get from the bank ceo and seeing that he be now to be a target for blackmail and due to her failure . and last and but certainly not least and what with the electric glide that denzel do . how stupid . be that suppose to indicate his resolve to bring these guy to justice . he look and rather and like a man who hop a ride on a shopping cart and while try to prevent a bowel movement . cheeee zheeee . other than the mediocre plot while lousy script while bad act while and overall pitiful directing . yada and yada and yada . hopefully this will give enough insight into the movie to help others decide whether to waste their money or not .