Inside Man is an acting tour de force. The actors constantly wear their feelings on their sleeves, while keeping them to a reasonable level.

The star power is phenomenal, and the director is there just to top it all off. Spike Lee has created a masterful thriller, with twists and turns until the end of the movie.

In the tradition of movies like Ocean’s Eleven and The Italian Job, Inside Man plays out a perfectly planned and executed bank heist.

The story begins with a confusing monologue from Clive Owen explaining his demeanor and the idea that he knows how to perform the perfect robbery. We are then introduced to Denzel Washington’s character, detective Keith Frazier.

Frazier begins the story under investigation because of a large sum of money that went missing after a recent bust that he had been a part of, so the captain throws him a bone and assigns Frazier to a seemingly simple bank robbery with hostages.

Upon arriving on the scene, Frazier lays down the law with Captain Darius, played by William Dafoe, and takes in the situation.

As a couple of hostages are released, the detective begins to feel that there is something more going on.

The arrival of a mystery guest named Madaliene White (Jodie Foster) and the mayor only augment this feeling.

After a secretive, solo meeting with the robbers, White, who is at this meeting at the request of Alexander Case (Christopher Plummer), the owner of the bank, is disturbed by the information that she discovers.

After her departure, things get stranger. Frazier begins to realize that the robbers are basically playing this robbery by the book. They’re stalling for time, and he doesn’t like it.

After all the hostages are released, a new secret is revealed that would seem to make no sense, but it all comes together at the end.

The police are bewildered by the outcome of the hostage situation and robbery, so the captain tells Frazier to bury it; however, he can’t do that.

He continues to dig deeper until he figures out exactly what happened-and to find out what exactly did happen, you’re going to have to see the movie for yourself.

Inside Man is a wonderfully crafted movie with surprises right up until the credits.

It’s an exciting movie that tells a great story that everyone should see.