Overview
A meticulously planned heist spirals into a tense standoff between a cunning robber and a determined detective.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- witty
- propulsive
- crime movie night
- thriller double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Spike Lee's energetic and clever bank-heist thriller for refreshing genre conventions and Denzel Washington's terrific performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Dalton Russell deliberately delays the robbery's apparent resolution while Keith Frazier and other authorities try to infer the thieves' real objective.
The bank's silver-haired founder, Arthur Case, urgently uses Madeline White to retrieve a secret object, connecting the heist to buried institutional wrongdoing.
Dalton Russell is soft-spoken, meticulous, and seemingly always ahead of the hostage negotiator, encouraging fascination alongside peril.
The action centers on a Manhattan bank at Wall Street and Broadway, with dozens of hostages and police surrounding the institution.
Films like Inside Man, and why
Dog Day Afternoon
shared bank-heist mechanics, hostage negotiation, escalating suspense, and clever reversals
Heat
shared meticulously planned robbery, criminal ingenuity, moral ambiguity, and urban thriller energy
The Thomas Crown Affair
shared cerebral heist structure, competing strategic minds, and polished mainstream suspense
The Negotiator
shared hostage crisis, procedural tension, and charismatic investigator confronting an elusive criminal
Movie Details
- Director
- Spike Lee
- Release Date
- 2006-03-17
- Runtime
- 129 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (6585)
Cast
- Denzel Washington
- Clive Owen
- Jodie Foster
- Christopher Plummer
- Willem Dafoe
- Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Carlos Andrés Gómez
- Kim Director
- James Ransone
- Bernie Rachelle
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Inside Man about?
- A sharp Manhattan bank siege becomes a chess match between a brilliant hostage negotiator, an enigmatic robber, and powerful people hiding a dangerous secret.
- What is Inside Man like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Inside Man as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Inside Man violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Inside Man as mild.
- What did critics think of Inside Man?
- Critics broadly praised Spike Lee's energetic and clever bank-heist thriller for refreshing genre conventions and Denzel Washington's terrific performance.
- Which films are like Inside Man?
- Films with a similar feel include Dog Day Afternoon, Heat, The Thomas Crown Affair, and The Negotiator.
- How long is Inside Man?
- Inside Man runs 129 minutes.
- Where can I watch Inside Man?
- In United States, Inside Man streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
