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Academy Award Winner Denzel Washington, Academy Award nominee Clive Owen and Academy Award winner Jodie Foster star in this intense and explosive crime thriller. The perfect bank robbery quickly spirals into an unstable and deadly game of cat-and-mouse between a criminal mastermind (Owen), a determined detective (Washington), and a power broker with a hidden agenda (Foster). As the minutes tick by and the situation becomes increasingly tense, one wrong move could mean disaster for any one of them. From acclaimed director Spike Lee comes the edge-of-your-seat, action-packed thriller The Wall Street Journal calls "a heist film that's right on the money."

The story was well thought-out, the characters were likeable, and there was enough action to keep me entertained throughout. One thing that surprised me was that I felt myself tugged in two opposing directions. Do I root for Clive Owen as he robs the bank? Or do I root for Denzel Washington while he tries to stop Clive Owen from robbing the bank? I love movies where you have to carefully weigh your loyalties. (Not that I could imagine anyone choosing Richard Gere's side, especially against Bruce Willis, but Inside Man was like The Jackal in that regard.)

Some Clive Owen performances are so good that I wonder why I don't like everything he does. The key is that some roles are just better suited for him (how's that for rocket science?). I love - of all things - how he sounds in the movies. His particularly-slow cadence really emphasizes his lines. When teamed with the right script, it is great. Inside Man played to this strength. (For another example, see Croupier.)

I thought the entire cast did a great job. Clive Owen was great, it was nice to see Jodie Foster on screen again and Denzel...was Denzel. The movie was suspenseful and entertaining. I don't expect it to make a short list of your favorites, but it was still very good.

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