Inside Man

Released Mar 24, 2006

2h 9m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

List

86%

Tomatometer

210 Reviews

85%

Audience Score

250,000+ Ratings

A tough detective (Denzel Washington) matches wits with a cunning bank robber (Clive Owen), as a tense hostage crisis is unfolding. Into the volatile situation comes a woman named Madaline (Jodie Foster), a mysterious power broker who has a hidden agenda and threatens to push a tense situation past the breaking point.

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Critics Consensus

Spike Lee's energetic and clever bank-heist thriller is a smart genre film that is not only rewarding on its own terms, but manages to subvert its pulpy trappings with wit and skill.

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Wilson Morales

indieWire

Foster's slick performance as "fixer" Madeleine White adds to the intrigue and suspense, along with the supporting characters...

Mar 31, 2020

Full Review

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

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

Apr 29, 2008

Full Review

David Ansen

Newsweek

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.

Nov 1, 2007

Full Review

Cory Woodroof

For the Win (USA Today)

Inside Man is an electric, pulpy crime thriller that only Lee could make, and Washington just gets to operate in such a thrilling space as he tries to save the day amid quite a tense situation.

Sep 6, 2023

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

A straight-forward but enthralling caper that does right by its characters while offering Lee the wiggle room to poke at a few social issues along the way.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 22, 2022

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Inside Man is a run-of-the-mill heist film, something that merely fills up time, directed by Spike Lee.

Feb 14, 2021

Full Review

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Audience Member

Probably one of my favorite movies

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/09/24

Full Review

Third A

Wow, what a load of 💩...

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/02/24

Full Review

Scott D

Average, at best. Definitely don’t trust the scores on this one if you don’t want to be disappointed.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/23/24

Full Review

Cork B

A rare Denzel miss here. This is well acted and filming looks good, but it makes no sense. There are maybe multiple misdirects that end up with... I have no idea what at the end of this other than Clive Owen gets some diamonds. Why anyone would keep Nazi documents in their safe deposit box is beyond me. Denzel's character really has no impact on the outcome, and who the heck is the inside man supposed to be?

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/13/24

Full Review

Rich S

"Inside Man" has all the star power and more, starting with Spike Lee, Jodie Foster and Denzel Washington. But this isn't the blockbuster you would expect. All three of the aforementioned big stars fall short of expectations. It's almost as if they've been miscast (Jodie), re-cast (Denzel), or missed their usual bus stop and ended up outside of their comfort zone/genre (Spike). Clive Owen, on the other hand, steals the show.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/30/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Wow! This was greatest heist movie I have ever seen about the bank robbers and detectives investigation on the bank.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/21/24

Full Review

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Spike Lee

Director

Denzel Washington

Keith Frazier

Clive Owen

Dalton Russell

Jodie Foster

Madaline White

Willem Dafoe

Capt. Darius

Chiwetel Ejiofor

Det. Bill Mitchell

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Inside Man: Official Clip - Dalton Gives Frazier a Riddle