From the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, Spike Lee was regarded as
the best African-American director in Hollywood. His films like
Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X were provocative
studies of racial prejudice and the black American experience. He
seemed to lose his footing in the late 1990s, often making films
that bombed at the box-office.

But Spike is making a comeback of sorts with the superb thriller
Inside Man, his most commercial film to date. It stars
the perennially sexy Denzel Washington as a police officer squaring
off with bank robber Clive Owen, who had just taken control of a
bank in Manhattan. Clive, however, is not your average bank robber.
Not only is he exceptionally intelligent, he also seems to be after
something else besides money.

Enter Jodie Foster (our favourite closet case), an independent
operator who is employed by the bank's owner to protect certain
special interests which she is not at liberty to divulge. In short,
this is no typical heist. Nothing is what it seems.

Spike's dynamic visual style makes this actioner even more thrilling
to watch. The performances by two-time Oscar winners Jodie Foster
and Denzel Washington, and Oscar nominee Clive Owen are pitch-perfect.
For lovers of action movies, this is the one to catch.