Rating: 
Summary: flat, slow, boring
Review: I told my wife before that movie that I never saw a bad movie with Al Pacino in it. After the movie I had to admit that now I had seen one. The movie realistic, but it is very slow, it's more like a documentary film or a 20/20 story. A total lack of any artistic value.
Rating:
Summary: Good story but Over Rated!
Review: I am not saying that this is a bad movie or bad story... not at all. But here are the disappointments that might hit you:1. One of things that might disappoint the audience is that it cannot be easily swallowed after Russel's great movie "Gladiator". 2. Second when you say Al Pacino, we remember his greatests "Heat" or "Devil's Advocate". So this movie does not easily fit with many of his great movies. So the success of this movie is no more determined by the actors past successful history, but only if the story is good or not. And yes the story was good and had its certain type of suspense but it gets in a frame that we all knew about this story and now it has got out. In other words, we always believed that smoking cigarettes is an addiction. No this film told us why and how. So it's not new, but now it is out. I see that this type of story needed not such expensive great actors except to attract more audience!
Rating: 
Summary: Pompous and Boring!
Review: What an awful movie this thing is. It takes itself way way to seriously. Who cares about Mike Wallace and that phony Sixty Minutes program anyway. What makes the movie even worse than it should be is the Letterbox format and Al Pacino's awful hairpiece. Don't waste your time with this thing unless your're looking for a good unintentional laugh.
Rating: 
Summary: amazing
Review: Dante Spinotti, who was also behind the visuals on Heat, is amazing. The Insider, as a trained cinematographer, is one of the best and inventively shot films I have seen in a long time. As well, Michael Mann does an amazing job overall, of directing these two fine actors. He also is one a director I hold in the highest esteem. Whatch this one - do not let the synopsis prevent you from seeing it because you're afraid it may be "boring". Give it a chance and you will find it to be very exciting and full of both energy and touching moments. Absolutely outstanding. Crowe deserved "Best Actor" for this, and Mann "Best Director" at the Oscars.
Rating:
Summary: BAD
Review: This movie was a flop at the box office, and deserved to be. This was a trivial incident to base a whole movie on. And it wasn't carried off well. I thought it was badly done, and shouldn't have been done at all. And I don't like cigarette companies, and I still didn't like this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: i am disappointed
Review: i am really disappointed while watching this movie. I dont know, maybe my expectations were high. But i got bored. The movie is unnecessarily long and the tempo is always low. Al pacino is good but russell is not. The story is interesting. It shows the direction of press towards social problems. I prefer not to watch that movie but...its ok..at least it worths to see al pacino on screen.
Rating: 
Summary: A great movie, if a bit overrated.
Review: The Insider Score: 84/100 Whatever your personal opinions are about The Insider, you must admit that it is a well-made movie. If you dislike it, you can't exactly say that the effort wasn't a large amount for all the cast and crew. Because it was, and you can tell just by watching every minute of this long but rewarding crowd-pleaser starring New Zealand's Russell Crowe, in a performance that got him nominated for an Oscar. The film also earned 6 other nominations, and didn't win one of them, since there was too much competition. A shame, because this is such an intelligent and observing movie that you can't help but be intrigued. This film tells the true story of Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe), a former tobacco executive, who decided to appear on the CBS-TV News show "60 Minutes." As matter of conscience partially prodded by producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), he revealed that, the tobacco industry was not only aware that cigarettes are addictive & harmful, but deliberately worked on increasing that addictiveness. Unfortunately, both protagonists of this story learn the hard way that simply telling the truth is not enough as they struggle against both Big Tobacco's attempts to silence them and the CBS TV Network's own cowardly complict preference of putting money as a higher priority over the truth. It's amazing how well this did with the critics, since it didn't get much attention at the box office or at home-video rental stores. But people, intelligently, liked Michael Mann's thrilling and dramatic film that, if sometimes a little boring for some audiences, manages to deliver first-rate performances from the cast and be memorable and vivid in your mind. The Insider's script is a majorly clever one, it literally blew socks off global viewers for it's pure sense of intelligence, the film was written by Michael Mann (we can't get enough of him) and Eric Roth (his promising co-writer). In short: The Insider is a must-see in all aspects.
Rating:
Summary: Ugly American's
Review: The Insider is about the American tobacco industry and its efforts to suppress a segment prepared for CBS television network's "60 Minutes" in 1995. The "60 Minutes" story, produced by Lowell Bergman and presented by veteran newsman Mike Wallace, alleged that tobacco companies had long known of the disease-causing effects of smoking, were well aware that nicotine was an addictive drug and indeed deliberately enhanced the effect of nicotine through the use of chemical additives. In Mann's film, Bergman (Al Pacino) first encounters Wigand (Russell Crowe), recently fired by Brown & Williamson, while looking for a consultant on a story concerning the fire hazards of smoking. Bergman senses that Wigand has a significant story to tell. But the latter has signed a confidentiality agreement with his former employer; if he tells "60 Minutes" what he knows, he'll lose his severance package, including medical coverage, a major issue in the US. He comes under immense pressure to remain silent; his family receives death threats; his marriage eventually breaks up; Brown & Williamson launches a smear campaign. Crowe is especially fine. Pacino proves that his over-acting and histrionics in too many films have been largely a product of having weak material to work with. The most remarkable feature of the film is the hostility it expresses, and encourages in a spectator, for the profit system. The depth and purity of this hostility is breathtaking. It is the depth and purity of this hostility that provides the film with its aesthetic. This, I think, is what one responds to more than anything else. The filmmakers present the heads of the tobacco companies, the "Seven Dwarves" as thoroughly despicable, irredeemable characters. Wigand's former employer is prepared to go to any lengths to protect its interests. The ugly face of Brown & Williamson is the ugly face of big business in America. Mann is only confirming what everyone already knows in his or her heart. It's not discussed in polite company, no one in the corporate-controlled media will mention it, but everyone knows it. The Insider could only come into being, could only possess its power, because it tapped into an accumulated build-up of disgust and anger, a general feeling that "enough is enough." Many people are sick and tired of a society in which everything is organized in the interest of the rich and powerful. That's what the film's about, whether anyone likes it or not.
Rating:
Summary: Michael Mann does it again
Review: After his last great movie Heat, Michael has made another fantastic film. The Insider does take some liberties with the facts, but that doesn't matter one bit. When two heavy-hitters like Russell Crowe and Al Pacino get to square off, that alone makes it worth-watching. Michael has composed a riveting suspense film, which made me forget my life for 2 hours, and I didn't look at my watch once, the true litmus test for how good a movie is. The story is tightly written, with no dull spots, and excellent character development. The acting is completely flawless. Russell Crowe is positively phenomenal, he gets all the mannerisms of his character down, and I actually cared about what happened to him. Al Pacino just gives another in a long line of great performances, as the 60 minutes producer. I have always loved Mann because he is a stylistic magnificent director, as showcased here. I especially liked the driving range scene, great stuff. Combined with Dante Spinotti's camerawork, which is also incredible, the picture is technically excellent. The conclusion of the review will go like this, there is no reason not to see it, it has big stars, a great director, and is entertaining. Not much more needs to be said.
Rating:
Summary: Should have been best picture
Review: This film should have won the Best Picture Oscar in 2000. It is great & Russell deserved the Oscar for his hard work in the role. Love the extras on the disc. Only problem, I have alot of problems getting my disc to play.
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