SummaryThe perfect bank robbery quickly spirals into an unstable and deadly game of cat-and-mouse between a criminal mastermind (Clive Owen), a determined detective (Denzel Washington), and a power broker with a hidden agenda (Jodie Foster). As the minutes tick by and the situation becomes increasingly tense, one wrong move could mean disaster for any o... Read More
Directed By:Spike Lee
Written By:Russell Gewirtz
Inside Man
Metascore
Generally Favorable
76
User score
Generally Favorable
7.4
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
95% Positive
37 Reviews
37 Reviews
5% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
The thrills in Spike Lee's singularly savvy thriller are in small unexpected moments.
88
Inside Man may be a cat-and-mouse game, but it's far from predictable. What could have been a straightforward thriller is unusually clever, visually captivating and unfailingly entertaining.
User score
Generally Favorable
80% Positive
213 Ratings
213 Ratings
18% Mixed
48 Ratings
48 Ratings
2% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Mar 26, 2021
10
I like such intelligent movies, especially when criminals are being shown as smart one. There are many clever elements, that surprise you and making you ask, how the counterpart will react to it.
The actors were great also.
Jan 1, 2021
10
I once thought "Malcolm X was Spike Lee's best collaboration with Denzel Washington. After seeing "Inside Man", for what I think the fourth time,I changed my mind.
Washington stars as Detective Keith Frazier, a hostage negotiator for the NYPD. His task for one hot day is figure out how to get dozens of hostages out of bank that was just robbed. His adversary is actor Clive Owen. I've never understood why the public doesn't see more Owen. He's good looking, British and a great actor. Owen and Washington go toe to toe in a two hour plus thriller.
Add the legendary actors Jodie Foster and Christopher Plummer, you have a tense thriller.
This is definitely Lee's most commercial and accessible movie. On a New Year Eve's night where I was basically doing nothing, this was a treat.
80
Boils with humor, surprise and dramatic energy.
80
I found myself savoring a thriller (as well as a Spike Lee “joint”) that wasn't, for a change, in my face.
75
Go with the flow, and it remains a taut and well-engineered thriller. Poke at plot incongruities, as I was doing literally on the way to the parking lot, and it starts to unravel.
70
A flashy cast, clever script and vibrant showcasing of New York City as the ultimate melting pot are strong plusses for Spike Lee's most mainstream studio venture.
58
A fairly routine heist drama and a never especially believable puzzle film.
Jul 7, 2014
10
Inside Man was an action packed, tense and suspense filled, and overall exciting movie. This movie is going into my book as my favorite movie. The actors were absolutely amazing and they fit their part. If I had to watch a movie over-and-over again, this would be it. It is filled with energy and is absolutely incredible. The soundtrack was amazing and fit well in the movie. The actors were well placed, and were great at their job. Clive Owen's ego and personality really fits the character "Dalton Russel" as explained. Denzel Washington also did a fantastic job of "Detective Keith Frazier." Overall the actors of this movie really had a place and knew what they were doing. If you are looking for an action-packed, somewhat comedic, and suspense-filled movie, you should really check out "Inside Man." Spike Lee has outdone himself on this one, as it is a well put together film that is sure to please you. It is rated 'R' so be careful who watches it. Overall great movie.
Mar 18, 2025
6
Well produced caper with a star studded cast, great soundtrack, editing and direction. The screenplay seems pretty fantastical with an almost comic book movie style to it. As punchy as it is, its one of manu, many other better examples if a heist movie. It sorely lacks the tension and threat that better films in its genre are capable of. Very entertaining to watch but it gets close to comedy/parody at points and seems to suffer from that classic third act slog that befalls so many other decent movies.
Jan 19, 2025
6
İlk izlediğimde daha güzeldi. Ortalama ve üzeri bir film diyebilirim. Kandır , vahşettir yok. İzlemenizi tavsiye ederim.
Jul 3, 2020
6
The biggest problem with this move: it seems like they made the cops way too stupid. And it felt like it was because they couldn't write the plot well. Still an okay-ish movie.
Jan 21, 2023
0
Just for the unrealistic video game scene this movie deserves a zero. The movie comes across as something made by a Christian movie production company: very heavy handed with it’s moralizing. Out of all the Spike Lee movies I’ve seen, this is the worst.
Production Company:
- Universal Pictures
- Imagine Entertainment
- 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
- GH Two
Release Date:Mar 24, 2006
Duration:2 h 9 m
Rating:R
Tagline:It looked like the perfect bank robbery. But you can't judge a crime by its cover.
Awards
Black Reel Awards
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Black Movie Awards
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Italian Online Movie Awards (IOMA)
• 3 Nominations
