Inside Man

Lee spins the conventional in this over-extended, gabby but well-played crime thriller. Dalton Russell (Owen) and his gang enter a Manhattan bank, apparently to rob the vault. They take hostages but aren't in a hurry to negotiate with slick detective Keith Frazier (Washington). Frazier suspects more is up when icy fixer Madeline White appears, at nervous bank chairman Arthur Case's (Plummer) request, saying Russell must be prevented at any cost from obtaining the contents of a particular safety deposit box. Many twists and turns follow to a satisfying conclusion.