Spike Lee scored his biggest hit to date with Inside Man; an unconventional thriller with fascinating details in the margins of its convoluted plot. The screenplay (by first-timer Russell Gerwitz) could've used a few more rewrites; it moves at a brisk pace but in hindsight a lot of it doesn't make sense. That makes Inside Man more fun to watch than to think about afterwards (when you discover plot holes big enough to drive a truck through); but it's curiously involving; especially as NYPD Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) struggles to outsmart a high-stakes bank robber (Clive Owen) who; along with a well-trained crew of accomplices; has seized control of a Wall Street bank; turning what initially looks like a hostage crisis into a personal crusade to expose some mysterious evil secrets. As you might expect from the director of Do the Right Thing; Lee seizes several satisfying opportunities to examine post-9/11 issues of racial prejudice and domestic terrorism; and the mysterious "problem solver" Madeline White (Jodie Foster); as eerily sinister as she is vaguely defined; is worthy of her own movie. With the benefit of his most stellar cast to date (including Christopher Plummer; Willem Dafoe and Chiwetel Ejiofor); Lee seems more interested in character details than well-crafted suspense; but that doesn't stop Inside Man from being engrossing; subtly amusing; and quirky enough to qualify as a welcomed break from the formulaic thrillers that are Hollywood's bread and butter.--Jeff Shannon