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.

Criminal thriller, based on real events in which Emilie Hirsch plays Bobby Belucci, a violent police detective dismissed from his position after attacking his wife's lover. After beating her lover to a pulp, she leaves him and Bobby gets demoted at work, triggering his determination to prove he's worthy of redemption. Inside Man (2023) follows disgraced New York Police Detective Belucci (Emilie Hirsch) as his life falls apart when he discovers his wife (Ashley Greene) is having an affair. Now, Bobby is looking for a second chance to regain everyone's respect. To do this, he decides to go incognito into a group of dangerous mafia members, but this results in an operation in which he will soon lose control of his actions. Bobby will stop at nothing to get close to the head of the crew, Roy DeMeo (Danny Abeckaser), to expose the murder and corruption. His plan is to go undercover as a grunt and infiltrate the Gambino crime family's notorious "DeMeo Crew," a violent and bloody faction that reigned terror in the 1960s and '70s. The gangsters join at 'The Gemini Lounge', the bar the film is centred. The price for absolution may be higher than he can afford !.

The film portrays the brutality and impunity in which the DeMeo gang, led by Roy DeMeo, acted, a criminal group laced with Gambino family that led crime in New York, committing around 200 murders between the 1970s and 1980s . Mobster movie contains top-notch performances , pretentious familiar drama , thrills , fast-paced , action , being richly narrated and including an emotive final, although also packs strong scenes , violence and profanities. The picture develops itself in the wake of classics as ¨Mike Newell's Donnie Brasco¨ and ¨Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas¨, taking parts here and there. Fresh and intelligent screenplay by Kosta Kondilopoulos, based on real N. Y. C's Italian Mafia families , including interesting characterizations taken from real mobsters. Emile Hirsch gives an acceptable acting as a disgraced police detective seeking redemption by going undercover to expose a violent crime syndicate, but he sinks deeper into the mob and more bodies drop. He falls in love for the Gemini Lounge's waiter played by Lucy Hales, but there's an underutilization of Lucy Hale's role and the absence of meaningful interactions between them. The film's cast is completed Jake Cannavale, Ashley Greene, and brief acting of Robert Davi as mobster chief Anthony 'Nino' Gaggi and even the film's director Danny A. Abeckaser who plays a main role, mobster Roy DeMeo.

'Inside Man' was originally titled 'The Gemini Lounge' and some countries still retain this name, it was professionally directed by Danny A. Abeckaser, though usually lacks nuance and relies heavily on visual cues to depict emotions and plot points. He's known for his roles in Zohan: (2008), First We Take Brooklyn (2018) and The Iceman (2012). And he's directed a few films, such as: ¨The Engineer¨, ¨Mob town¨, ¨First We Take Brooklyn¨, ¨Blackjack: The Jackie Ryan Story¨. Rating: 5.5/10. Passable but not notable.

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.

Wow this was surprisingly awesome. For an non-studio produced (independently funded) film, it's a B-grade version of the best big budget Hollywood-produced gangster films. Produced, directed and co-starring Danny A. Abeckaser with Emile Hirsch, and a bunch of other perfectly cast mobster-looking actors, all performances were spot on. Written by newb screenwriter Kosta Kondilopoulos, this is a very engaging and thrilling story based on true events. Aside from some pacing issues and other small rookie filmmaking mistakes, the 91 min runtime was effectively used, and although I'm not usually a fan of narrated storytelling, it actually worked well in this film. Props to all the cast and crew for pulling off such a great little indie gem. It's a well deserved 8/10 and certainly a recommended watch from me. Click on my username to see how I rate and review films, or to see more of my 1,700+ reviews and 3,000+ ratings.

I'm surprised Inside Man didn't get a higher rating on here. It certainly deserves a higher rating in my opinion. People comparing it to Goodfellas make no sense. First of all it doesn't have the same budget nor director. Sure it's a gangster movie, this time based on a true story although I doubt it that things exactly happened like that. Even if it has a lower budget I wouldn't class it as a B-movie like some other reviewers stated. If all B-movies were of this quality I wouldn't watch anything else. Good acting from the entire crew with Emile Hirsch standing out of the lot. A pleasant story to follow, just like I would imagine the mobs in New York to work in those times. A good watch if you like oldschool gangster movies.