Inside Man: Most Wanted 2019 * * * Stars

Director: Michael J. Bassett
Year: 2019
Rated R
Rating: * * * Stars
Cast: Rhea Seehorn, Aml Ameen, Roxanne McKee

An FBI agent from Harvard and a cocky hostage negotiator (Will Smith lookalike Aml Ameen) try to save some lives during a Nazi gold bank robbery in NYC. That's the gist of the slick and polished, Inside Man: Most Wanted.

"Most Wanted", with its script reading like episodes of Criminal Minds, Law & Order, and/or Scorpion, is fast-paced, mildly violent, twisty, and feinted from its opening frame. Everyone involved with this film really wants you to take it seriously. That's admirable from the standpoint of "Most Wanted" being sadly relegated to direct-to-video status (what'd you expect? It's 13 years later).

Brit helmer Michael J. Bassett signed on to direct "Most Wanted" with it being a long-delayed sequel to 2006's Inside Man. No one from the original flick was involved but Bassett keeps the mysterious heist dream alive. Just like in the first Inside Man, "Most Wanted" tells us that nothing is what it seems when it comes to hastily stealing from a Federal Reserve lender.

There's some cool explosions, a couple of ending flashbacks, a 1945 combat flashback, and characters saying the word "boom" (and "bam") on multiple occasions. Just to let you know that Inside Man: Most Wanted is an undisclosed follow-up, there's also a portrait of Denzel Washington on a classroom wall as well as a mugshot of Clive Owen in an FBI file.

In retrospect, "Most Wanted" isn't high art but with its own "den of thieves", it tries to come real close. There's no Spike Lee this time around, no Jodie Foster, no Terrence Blanchard music, and no known stars involved (have you guys ever heard of actress Rhea Seehorn or actor Urs Rechn? Neither have I). Still, Inside Man: Most Wanted might be even more exciting and rousing than the first Inside Man installment. Sans a sizable film crew and a big budget, that's no "inside" joke. Rating: 3 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson