From the surface, Spike Lee’s newest film, “Inside Man,” looks like any other bank-robbery-gone-wrong movie. Denzel Washington plays Keith Frazier, a fast-talking detective eager to work his way up the police ranks. He is given a chance to prove himself when Dalton Russell, played by Clive Owen, attempts to execute a perfect heist at a prominent New York City bank. The situation quickly involves hostages, but there is more at work at the bank than just the robbery. Jodie Foster plays Madeline White, a power broker hired to protect one of the bank’s most volatile secrets that would shake its foundation.

Jill Blackledge: Lee is best known for being a cutting-edge director with a biting sense of the reality of issues, such as race or politics. Although “Inside Man” didn’t appear to fit into either of those categories at first, I could definitely tell the movie had Lee’s touch. Like Robert Altman, Lee doesn’t waste any dialogue, and the audience has to sift through all the overlapping noise to really hear what the characters are saying. There were lots of little editorialized interjections from characters that arose out of the tense situation. A Sikh suspected racial prejudice, and Russell criticized one hostage, a young boy, because his father let him play a controversial video game. New York City is Lee’s location of choice, and here it serves as a center for commentary on some of today’s touchy issues.

Andrew Schmeisser: Although the story of “the perfect bank robbery” was interesting, it was not new. Russell explains to the audience that the key of pulling off the perfect bank robbery was the how. Unfortunately, the how he speaks of was not as great or impressive as the movie made it out to be. Although I was amused by the supreme arrogance that Russell had during the movie, I was left unimpressed with the how, as it were. Understandably, director Lee is somewhat known for delivering a usually powerful, and not necessarily happy ending; however, in this case, the ending left me wanting a more supreme victor.

JB: “Inside Man” has one of the basic principles essential to a good movie: a great cast. Washington, Owen and Foster, as well as Willem Dafoe and Christopher Plummer in supporting roles, all play their parts in the story very well. Washington is convincing as a mix of the classic film noir detective and hard-boiled, gritty street cop. Even if the audience isn’t always convinced of his control, he is convinced. Owen makes a great villain, and his dark voice serves well. He wears a mask most of the film, and he’s volatile as he deals with Frazier and White.

AS: Washington delivers the kind of performance I would expect from him at this point. Unfortunately, he’s played the pressured cop before. It isn’t a bad performance, but it lacks the ability to keep my attention. Intertwined within his normal dialogue, his sarcastic comments and one-liners led me to think that when all was said and done, this was no more than a long day at the office for Frazier. As for Owen, erratic movements, clever dialogue laced with profanity, and a monotone emotional palate led to what I’d consider a very mediocre performance as Russell. Considering his past movies, this performance as a peaceful bank robber didn’t impress me greatly. Although Foster’s performance is good, I felt it was nothing compared to her performances in other movies, such as “Silence of the Lambs” or “Contact.”

JB: Although the performances were excellent, I didn’t think the characters always had a clear purpose, which led to a plot that didn’t, either. Frazier said Russell was stalling the robbery, and when he said that, I started to feel how the movie was slowing down. Although the motive is revealed at the end, it is hard to look back at the film and see how it leads up to that moment. Frazier understands what is happening but lets Russell jerk him around anyway. Foster negotiates with Russell, but her character drifts in and out. She delivers the motive, but it’s unclear why it was her.

AS: I think that one of the redeeming qualities of the movie was its soundtrack – an Asian and hip-hop mix with a fully orchestrated score. The soundtrack matches the mood of the film. However, the dialogue, with the exception of Washington’s Frazier, is occasionally more explicit than I thought was necessary.

JB: “Inside Man,” despite its lack of direction, manages to tangle the audience in the story as Lee tangled it – sometimes accidentally – around itself. However, as hard as it was to accept the robbery or the motive, I did. It took a lot of work on my part to piece the nuances of the story into the larger picture, and the final realization was anticlimactic. It’s sold as a thriller, but at its heart, it’s a different story altogether.

AS: Considering Lee produced “Malcolm X,” “Inside Man” was his attempt at a heist movie. Being known for attacking racism head-on, Lee tried to address many forms of racism in this movie, as well as raise many questions about economic and social status. I think Lee tried to do too much in a two-hour movie.