Do you want to see ‘Inside Man’?

Inside Man (2006)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 196
Fresh: 169 | Rotten: 27

Spike Lee's energetic and clever bank-heist thriller touches on questions of race and class without taking away from the tension and fun of the cat-and-mouse games between a hostage negotiator (Denzel Washington), a bank robber (Clive Owen), and a high-powered fixer (Jodie Foster). Inside Man puts a spin on the Dog Day Afternoon scenario, with a group of sharp bank robbers who stay one step ahead of the police; it's a smart genre film that is not only rewarding on its own terms, but manages to subvert its pulpy trappings with wit and skill.

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Critic Reviews: 41
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 5

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 319,552

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

The volatile showdown between a determined cop and a perfectionist bank robber is sent spiraling toward disaster when a scheming power broker steps in to take control of the situation in this hair-raising heist flick directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, and Jodie Foster. Dalton Russell (Owen) is a bank robber with a difference. In his quest to execute the perfect heist, Dalton has taken every possible factor into consideration. Dalton's uncanny ability of staying one

R, 2 hr. 9 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

Directed By: Spike Lee

Written By: Russell Gewirtz

In Theaters: Mar 24, 2006 Wide

On DVD: Aug 8, 2006

Box Office:$88.4M

Universal Pictures

[A] wily thriller, which revitalizes a familiar premise by turning it inside out.

April 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

As unexpected as some of its plot twists is the fact that this unapologetic genre movie was directed by Spike Lee, who has never sold himself as Mr. Entertainment. But here it is, a Spike Lee joint that's downright fun.

November 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Newsweek

| Comment

David Ansen

Newsweek

Top Critic

I gloried in the sheer spectacle of Jodie Foster as Madeline White, an exquisitely groomed, fearlessly feline fixer striding on her high heels and her high horse into one supposedly perilous situation after another.

April 5, 2006 Full Review Source: New York Observer

| Comment

Andrew Sarris

New York Observer

Top Critic

It's very satisfying.

March 28, 2006 Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper

| Comment

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Top Critic

Even past the midway point, it's all working -- it's taut, it's funny, it's trenchant, it's stylish. And then it isn't.

March 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail

| Comment

Rick Groen

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

Inside Man has an abundance of riches.

March 24, 2006 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle

| Comment

Ruthe Stein

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

The lack of characterization of the robbers, while true to the structure of the story, makes it seem a bit flat. At the end of the day, it's not really about anything; it's just a bunch of stuff that happens. But it's a bunch of stuff that's fun to watch.

March 27, 2011 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net

| Comment

Joshua Starnes

ComingSoon.net

An intelligent, invigoratingly airtight caper and a love letter to New York on crumpled, coffee-stained paper, "Inside Man" is the best kind of Spike Lee joint - one where he doesn't stumble over his sledgehammer before swinging it.

September 24, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com

| Comment

Nick Rogers

Suite101.com

A limp ride that, for all the shove of the camera and the grabby intimations of buried corruption, is no different from a John McTiernan Joint

August 30, 2009 Full Review Source: CinePassion

| Comment

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

Universal's Blu-ray release presents the film in top quality, although the special features are a bit slight.

June 19, 2009 Full Review Source: DVD Review

| Comment

Felix Gonzalez Jr.

DVD Review

... remains consistently watchable as a mechanical exercise.

June 19, 2009 Full Review Source: DVD Review

| Comment

Felix Gonzalez Jr.

DVD Review

Since bankrupting his film production company with dreadful movies like "Bamboozled" and "He Hate Me" Spike Lee now works as a Hollywood gun-for-hire creating a blas� and muddy suspense police drama.

April 20, 2009 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com

| Comment (1)

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Inside Man is the Spike Lee film for people who don't go to see Spike Lee films, and it's also a fun treat for people who see everything the man does.

February 27, 2009 Full Review Source: CHUD

| Comment (1)

Devin Faraci

CHUD

Smart heist movie is not for children.

July 10, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media

| Comment

Cynthia Fuchs

Common Sense Media

An enjoyable, polished thriller, ideal for Friday night entertainment.

April 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Leigh Singer

Film4

[Lee] nails the irritable yet alive soul of New York -- particularly, now, New York post-9/11 -- better than anyone else.

September 24, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

| Comment

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

With a few notable exceptions, there's little of Mr. Lee's trademark style anywhere to be seen. And he is sorely missed.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound

| Comment

Joe Lozito

Big Picture Big Sound

the apotheosis of its genre, honing the heist siege flick to the perfection of a diamond. See it, and be dazzled.

July 10, 2007 Full Review Source: Eye for Film

| Comment

Anton Bitel

Eye for Film

A tepid potboiler that never even reaches room temperature.

June 16, 2007 Full Review Source: Quarterly Black Review

| Comment

Kam Williams

Quarterly Black Review

Supremely annoying and nonsensical.

January 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK]

| Comment

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian [UK]

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Inside Man

View All

A new area for Lee, this exciting thriller features great performances but also Lee is still able to inject his usual social commentary subliminally, this is Spike Lee's late masterpiece.

October 30, 2011

Graham Jones

Super Reviewer

Spike Lee's 'Inside Man' is a pulse-pounding ride that has plenty of entertainment value. This script is top-notch, and Lee really uses it to his advantage to flesh out everything the story has to offer. Performances from Owen and Washington will keep you entranced the entire film, but Foster was laughable. I could not

June 23, 2011

Kase Vollebregt

Super Reviewer

Inside Man Quotes

View All

1. Dalton Russell: Fact is, all lies, all evil deeds, they stink. You can cover them up for a while, but they don't go away.
– Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)
1. Dalton 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.
– Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)