A thriller not to be missed, Spike Lee and Denzel Washington's strongest collaboration together.

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2010)

Spike Lee is widely considered the most talented and relevant African American director, but many of his films lack focus. More than ten years lapsed between two of his most cohesive movies, Clockers and Inside Man. Clockers was dropped in Lee's lap by Martin Scorsese, who was too busy with Casino at the time, and Inside Man was passed up by Ron Howard, who instead opted to direct Cindrella Man. Perhaps all of Lee's films should come to him already in development by other filmmakers. In contrast to titles Lee develops from the beginning, both Clockers and Inside Man are relatively free of his overt statements on race relations, allowing him to focus on the crime/drama elements of each movie and to capture the people and places of New York as only Spike Lee can.
Inside Man starts off with intriguing narration by Russell: "My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. I've told you my name: that's the who. The where could most readily be described as a prison cell. But there's a vast difference between being stuck in a tiny cell and being in prison. The what is easy: recently I planned and set in motion events to execute the perfect bank robbery. That's also the when. As for the why: beyond the obvious financial motivation, it's exceedingly simple... because I can. Which leaves us only with the how; and therein, as the bard would tell us, lies the rub." This soliloquy is followed by a well-executed and impeccably filmed bank heist in downtown Manhattan. Adding a great deal to the production is the cinematography by Matthew Libatique, who also directed photography in IronMan), and music by Terence Blanchard, who composed scores for many previous Spike Lee movies.
An astute beat officer notices something wrong at the bank and the NYPD is quickly called in. The officers' personalities and dialog--showcasing Washington's best performance of the past decade--make for a lot of fun as the scenes strobe back and forth between the grave hostage situation evolving in the bank and the police presence outside. Frazier, his boss--Captain John Darius (Willem Dafoe)--and colleague Detective Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor) all share moments of light banter as well as heavier exchanges. The bank robbers show an international, politically motivated agenda, forcing the cops to jump through hoops, but will the cards played by the robbers give away their hand or is it just a stunt to confound the NYPD? Spike Lee always had a knack for dialog and language. As some of the hostages are freed and interviewed by the officers, Lee's gift for colorful exchanges pays off big time. Not only is the entertainment value of the film ratcheted up and made more multidimensional by these interactions and the dialog, but the characters of all racial and ethnic backgrounds who were held in the bank show a slice of the Big Apple that tastes really sweet.
Frazier is an ambitious detective, gunning for a promotion, and he knows that his advancement is riding on the investigation. As meticulous as he is in following leads and interviewing the freed hostages, he cannot make any sense of the case. The bank heist seems to involve no victims, no robbers and no stolen money or goods--at least not that Frazier has been able to find. But then he stumbles on the key to the entire case. The bank's safe deposit box, #392, has never appeared on any records since the bank's founding in 1948. No sooner does Frazier obtain a search warrant to open it then he is confronted by Madeleine White (Jodie Foster), a lawyer for a wealthy, high-society client, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), who just so happens to be the founding owner of the bank. White tries to get Frazier to drop the investigation by guaranteeing his promotion, but when tested, Frazier displays more ethics than ambition. The film shifts into an exploration of good and evil. Russell's bank heist may not have been the crime it first appeared, while Case's lavish lifestyle and penthouse apartment may be at the expense of innocent victims. But will Russell escape his crime? And after a lifetime of luxury is to too late for Case to pay for his? With sparing use of nonlinear plot devices, Inside Man is a twisting, turning, entertaining thriller that lets up a bit after the heist, but stays interesting right up until the end.