Clive Owen is in the middle of a perfect bank robbery on Wall Street. Denzell Washington is the cop in charge, and the bank's owner, Christopher Plummer, wants something in a safe deposit box safeguarded. He calls fixer Jodie Foster, and she calls in a lot of favors for a private talk with Owen.

It's a riddle wrapped within an enigma within a caper film. Once upon a time, director King Vidor said he made one for the studio, and they let him make one for himself. This movie was made by director Spike Lee for the studio, and it's a beauty: not only is the story compelling, its character ambiguities a constant compelling series of mysteries that keep you watching. He's directing a great cast, and set them doing their work, each very competent, each tugging and pulling the movie in his or her own direction. It's a structure like Fred Zinneman's version of THE DAY OF THE JACKAL.... except that in that movie, you knew DeGaulle was not going to get shot. In this one, you don't even know that.

INSIDE MAN is one of those clever-clever thrillers in which things aren't as they seem, people aren't who they make out to be and everything's layered in cloying, murky conspiracy that leaves you unsure of just what, exactly, is going on. At its heart it's a simple tale of a bank robbery but, as in DOG DAY AFTERNOON, things are far from simple. The villains' motives are never revealed and it leaves you wondering who the real villains are after all.

Now, I'm all for a head-scratching thriller – I've seen and enjoyed enough of them – and while I liked this film on the strength of the actors alone, I can't help but acknowledge that it's deeply flawed. One of the main negatives about it is Spike Lee, whose 'urban' style of direction is at odds with the film's premise and plot. He can't help but throw in many flashy scenes and moments of over-direction that scream "look at me" and subtract from the realism, as they keep taking you out of the movie. Lee should have stayed in the background, choreographing his actors and scenes and not getting in the way like he does here.

It's also weird that he has this whole '70s throwback going on, a kind of nudge-nudge type aspect wherein Denzil Washington's detective feels like KOJAK. The unusual Bollywood-style opening music is point in itself. It's like Lee is trying so hard to be 'edgy' and different and he ends up with just another thriller that thinks its cleverer than it really is. It's also half an hour longer than it ought to be, and with little action to recommend it it frequently veers towards boring. In fact, it's only the cast that keeps it entertaining: Washington excels as the laid back detective, a role he could play in his sleep by now. Thankfully he doesn't sleepwalk through it, instead creating a likable character. He's ably supported by newcomer Chiwetel Ejifor as his partner, absolutely great in an understated role. Long-time acting heavyweights Christopher Plummer and Willem Dafoe do well on the sidelines, but I absolutely couldn't stand Jodie Foster here; just one of those roles where you want to slap the character. As for Clive Owen, he's good, but hidden beneath a disguise for much of the movie so left out in the cold a bit.

It's not a bad film and it's one that kept me watching to see what happened, but in the end I was left feeling that nothing much happened after all. It's a long way from classics like THE NEGOTIATOR and the aforementioned DOG DAY AFTERNOON but it's worth a look for thriller fans.

Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) talks about a perfect bank robbery from what looks like a prison cell. Police detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington),still in the dog house for something, is given the bank robbery. Detective Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is his partner. There are hostages. The bank president Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) has something important in a safe deposit box. He brings in fixer Madeleine White (Jodie Foster). Captain John Darius (Willem Dafoe) is the uniform cop in charge of the crime scene. The robbers seem more interested in the storage room than the bank vault or the deposit boxes.

Director Spike Lee is making a stylized robbery. It's wall to wall A-list stars. That's actually distracting to have so many stars scattered in one movie. It takes away from any realism that Spike wants to inject into this movie. Also everything Spike does here is pointing to a surprise reveal. There is teasing, but this is over teasing. Everything is a mystery. Wink! Wink! Again it takes away from any realism. The mysteries are compelling for awhile but it gets tiresome.

The reveals are the biggest aspects of this movie. It's a shocking reveal and the jolt is quite enjoyable. But the more one thinks about it, the more problematic it gets. I have questions about the investigation. I have questions about the scheme. The cops should have used a re-enactment to place everybody in their spot. There is also video of the customers before the robbery. The investigation should be able to narrow the suspects much better. Then they should have tailed the suspects. I have questions that don't get answered.