One of my all time favorites.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It will come as no surprise to faithful readers of this column that I like good movies. I also like that even rarer event, the important movie. Rarest of all is that special movie that is both good and important. Michael Mann's The Insider is just such a film.Mann's best-known efforts to date are the films Heat and Last of the Mohicans. This film demands a more subtle and sophisticated guiding hand and Mann clearly rises to the challenge. The Insider is the somewhat fictionalized, but basically true, story of Jeffrey Wigand (played by Russell Crowe), a tobacco executive turned whistle blower. It is also the story of Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), a passionate producer who becomes a whistle-blowing insider in his own right.The subject matter of the film places it in the tradition of films like Silkwood, The China Syndrome, and A Civil Action. When Wigand agrees to go on the record exposing the cover-ups and perjury by tobacco industry executives he is harassed, threatened, betrayed, and abandoned. The real story here though is how CBS was bullied into softening and burying the story. Pacino's performance as the passionate producer with integrity provides the moral center of the film.It should come as no surprise that this is a good film. In addition to Mann's capable direction, there are some excellent performances by Crowe (who viewers might remember as Bud White in LA Confidential) and Pacino. Christopher Plummer also does superior work in his less than flattering portrayal of Mike Wallace. The screenplay is adapted from a short story by one of the masters of adaptation, Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Horse Whisperer). Cinematographer Dante Spinotti uses color, light, and shadows to infuse the story with rich visual symbols. This is a good film by a team of gifted artists.But this is also an important film. It would be a mistake to see this film as simply a film about the tobacco industry or the co-optation of the news industry. Ultimately, it is about corporate power in its broadest sense. It was especially interesting watching this film on the weekend of the Microsoft monopoly ruling. The clear message of this film is that we all lose when the bottom line of corporate profits is our only moral compass. We live in a society desperately in need of prophetic critique and moral pronouncement. The Insider does not say all that needs to be said, but it provides a welcome start to a much-needed dialogue.

When two legends of the silver screen join forces to act against one another, it's typically something special. The Insider provided just that, a visceral and relentless intense take on the Tobacco industry whistleblower, Jeffrey Wigand. Both Russell Crowe (Wigand) and Al Pacino (Lowell Bergman) do a great job of playing off each others strengths as characters and as actors. And really this film is a brilliantly poignant take on the lengths at which both sides will go (during a whistleblowing incident) to keep the truth hidden or revealed. The only thing I could have used a little bit more of is Wigand's reasoning behind why he should reveal to the world the truth behind this particular Tobacco. I got all the reasons and examples as to why he should keep his family safe (among many other things), but I feel like I didn't get enough from the movie as to why he should risk his life and come clean. Besides of course, the obvious reason being that it's the right thing to do. Other than that, The Insider is an impressive watch, and one that still rings relevant to this day.7.8/10

Was this movie funded by the State Dept. or by the Pentagon? Either way watching this snail-fest of a yawn inducing story exudes typical signatures of State sponsored propaganda that anyone born before 1980 will recognise immediately. Sad to see such great acting names roped in by either money or CIA influence.Avoid like Ebola.

I was drooling when I saw the first preview. the talent involved in this...aaaaahhhhhhh.You just know it's going to be good.And Crowe, who thinks he's the best actor who ever lived actually acted in this. Seeing him actually act is worth it. Many of us believed it was only a legend, but here it is, proof he does have talent somewhere beneath the brass.Pacino, Mann, Plummer, Gabon and you turn around and low and behold Gershon is doing a good job too.It's like a dream cast with a B-Team that rises up to the challenge.I'd give it a 10 if...wait, I can 10 of 10 just because it is a privilege to watch everyone in this film...who cares about the plot even? It could have been the worst story ever written and the cast and director would have saved it. It was like they were doing Richard III. that quality of awesome.